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(KIM ANDERSON / iNFOnews.ca)

While emergency crews were tackling a fire in downtown Kamloops last night, thieves saw their opportunity and broke into a bike shop during the power outage the fire sparked.

Cheryl Beattie, owner of Bicycle Cafe, said the transformer fire along Victoria Street disabled their security cameras around 10:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 14. Thieves broke in while the power was out, eventually leaving with three e-bikes.

"This was a super opportunistic crime," she said, frustrated and left to clean up the damage.

Beattie said they had already broken in once before power was restored to the store around 1 a.m. They left with one of the bikes and returned a second time around 1 a.m. to take two more.

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That's when an employee saw activity on their cameras and called Kamloops RCMP. Officers arrived within minutes, but it wasn't quick enough to catch the thieves.

"(The employee) was watching the robbery take place. They were gone within a minute and cops showed up within four minutes," Beattie said. "That's some impressive response time."

She's not sure why their alarm system didn't go off as it's separate from the power to the building, but Beattie is hoping the public may be able to spot the bikes if they're ridden around town.

The three bikes range in price from $5,000 to $9,000, while the store is also left to deal with thousands in repair costs, she said.

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She said each e-bike requires a proprietary charger and she said it's a "red flag" to bike shop employees when customers ask to buy new ones. If they can't find new chargers, they are essentially "one-ride bikes," she said.

The stolen bikes include a Giant Stance E2, Giant Trance E2 and a Specialized Levo Comp.

Kamloops RCMP did not immediately respond to a request for information about the investigation.

Anyone with information can contact Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000 and reference file 23-29323.

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