Two teenage boys arrested in connection with Facebook Marketplace robberies

We’ve arrested two 17-year-old boys on suspicion of robbery and public order offences, after a series of reported robberies linked with ads claiming to be selling bikes on Facebook Marketplace.

The two boys were arrested in early morning warrants in Longsight and Levenshulme today, Sunday 26 January 2025, led by our neighbourhood teams and supported by specialist officers.

We’ve been investigating reports of three separate incidents in the South Manchester area between Friday 20 December 2024 and Tuesday 21 January 2025, where members of the public had arranged to meet up with online sellers claiming to have a bicycle for sale. On each of these occasions, instead, the victims reported being assaulted. One of these victims received serious injuries requiring hospital treatment.

Whilst we have had no further reports at this stage, we are still advising those buying items online from people not known to them to be vigilant and take steps to ensure their safety, such as meeting in public places or taking someone else with you.

Sergeant Jonathan Lobley from our Longsight Neighbourhood Crime team said, “The arrests this morning are a positive step forward in our investigations into these incidents.

“Facebook Marketplace and other online reselling platforms are used extremely regularly with no incident. It is concerning to hear that in these cases, men trying to legitimately purchase bikes have been preyed upon, assaulted and robbed for no reason.

“Despite progress being made in our investigation, I would still encourage anyone who believes they have been a victim or witnessed something similar, or knows of anyone putting up fake ads online with the purpose of committing offences against innocent members of the public, to contact us on 101 so we can act.”