Portland bike theft expert takes down international crime ring

A Portland resident is being hailed for his role in taking down a major bike theft ring. In a feature story in Wired that was just published this morning, Bike Index co-founder Bryan Hance is credited with uncovering, “a bicycle-theft pipeline of astonishing scale.”

The article details Hance’s biggest catch yet: a man named Ricky Zamora who Hance estimates sold about 654 bikes worth as much as $1.2 million between 2020 and 2024. Zamora operated out of Jalisco, Mexico but partnered with a co-conspirator in San Jose, California. Their massive operation sourced bikes from up and down the west coast, including Portland.

Hance has spent countless hours in the past four years working with victims, law enforcement officials, and pulling all the threads that led to an indictment by the US Department of Justice back in February. The story in Wired pieces it all together while sharing more about Hance’s background.

You might recall Hance as BikePortland’s resident bike theft expert and the creator of our Stolen Bike Listings in 2009. Hance received a distinguished service medal from the Portland Police Bureau in 2012 and was instrumental in helping us set up the PPB Bike Theft Task Force in 2015. In 2016 Hance’s website Bike Index was credited with helping take down a prolific apartment bike room burglar.

Learn more about Hance from his interview on the BikePortland Podcast in 2022 and come out and meet him sometimes at Bike Happy Hour where he’s a regular attendee.

And don’t miss the amazing story from Wired that perfectly captures how Hance uses his unique skills and dedication to find justice for bike theft victims and reconnect them with their beloved steeds.