The man accused of masterminding the city's biggest bike theft operation has been remanded into custody until at least Wednesday.

Igor Kenk appeared in court Friday for a bail hearing but the courts decided he would stay behind bars until next week when he could satisfy the court's bail conditions.

In the meantime, Toronto police launched a "Bicycle Recovery Program" to reunite 2,500 bikes with their rightful owners.

The bicycles are available for viewing at 35 Strachan Ave. and 30 Ordnance St. starting today.

Supt. Ruth White said people looking to reclaim their bicycles should be prepared to offer proof of ownership, such as a sales receipt or serial number.

"If you do not have that we encourage you to bring photographs of you with your bicycle," White said.

"If you do not have that we are asking for some special identifier that you can positively identify your bicycle."

Without proof of purchase, owners will be required to swear to an affidavit and fill out forms, said White.

Bicycle owners are being asked to register their bicycles for free on the Toronto police website.

"It is imperative that you use our bike registry system," said White.

"You also must report the bicycle stolen because if you don't we can't return it to you."

For many, recovering a stolen bike can be a very emotional experience, said Insp. Bryce Evans.

"It's been emotional for a lot of people," he told CTV Toronto. "Some of these bikes have very sentimental value to them and it was quite evident (because) several people were actually crying when they located their bikes."

The program follows a police investigation that recovered a large number of stolen bikes in the downtown core.

Igor Kenk, the owner of a popular bike shop on Queen Street West, is accused of masterminding the largest bike theft operation Toronto has ever seen.

A big chunk of the bicycles have had their valuable parts stripped off and sold.

The "Bicycle Recovery Program" will end on Thursday, July 31, 2008.

Hours of operation:

  • Friday, July 25, 2008: noon to 8 p.m.
  • Saturday, July 26, 2008 and Sunday, July 27, 2008: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Monday, July 28, 2008 to Thursday, July 31, 2008: noon to 8 p.m.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Austin Delaney and Chris Eby