Man jailed for having 117 stolen bicycles

A man from Cavan has been sentenced to two years in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for possessing 117 stolen bicycles valued at approximately €50,000. Dinas Bimbiras, aged 47, of Maple Drive, Drumgola Wood, Cavan, pleaded guilty to possession of 116 bicycles found in a container at an allotment in south County Dublin in December 2019, and one bicycle discovered at his home in May 2020. Bimbiras claimed he had purchased the bicycles at Dublin markets to establish a business repairing and reselling them. Gardaí recovered 34 bicycles and returned them to owners following a media campaign; the remaining bicycles were sold at auction. Judge Martin Nolan described the defendant's recklessness in acquiring the bicycles as demonstrating "almost wilful blindness" and noted that handlers of stolen property must be deterred. Despite acknowledging Bimbiras's cooperation, work history, and family circumstances, the judge imposed the custodial sentence.