Yad2 used to sell stollen goods

A resident of Mazkeret Batya discovered that his bicycle, stolen a week earlier, was being offered for sale on the internet at a quarter its original price.

Last Tuesday the man discovered that two bicycles had been stolen from his home - one of which carried a price tag of NIS 12,000.

Two day later, one of his friends told him that Yad2, an internet site specializing in second-hand items from private sellers, had his bicycle on sale for only NIS 3,500

The man called the Rehovot police and with their help he contacted the person selling the bicycle, arranging a place to meet in central Rehovot.

At the exchange, the man gave the "seller" the money, at which time the police appeared and made an arrest.

The suspect, a 17-year old from Rehovot, was taken for questioning, and claimed he had bought the bicycle a year earlier, which was refuted.

Yad2 is one of the most popular in Israel for buying and selling used items. However, police suspect that some of the items on it are stolen, and are offered by thieves at low prices.

Yuval Goren. Thief nabbed selling stolen bike on Web. Haaretz.com (14 April 2009)