A new type of theft in Israel: people ride up on an electric bicycle and snatch bags from their hands.

The Haifa Magistrate’s Court heard the case of two teenagers who were detained on suspicion of robbing an elderly woman in Kiryat Motzkin. The suspects used the following method on the pensioner: they rode up on an electric bicycle, snatched the bag from her hands and quickly rushed away. The police are investigating the theory that these teenagers robbed other elderly women using the same method in the Krayot area (suburbs of Haifa).

Local police began receiving complaints about robberies involving electric bicycles back in January. In areas where such robbers were believed to be operating, police control measures were increased.

Late last week, a call came in about an elderly woman being robbed. A 70-year-old pensioner said she was walking down the street in Kiryat Motzkin when two guys approached her on an electric bike and suddenly snatched her bag from her hands. The woman herself was not injured, but the robbers fled with her property.

The police immediately began searching for the suspects and soon found them. They turned out to be two teenagers from Krayot. One of them is 16 years old, the second is 17. They were detained, taken in for questioning on suspicion of involvement in robberies, and later taken into custody.

The investigation into the case continues. Police believe these suspects are involved in other robberies committed in a similar manner.