- Dean Carey of Cardiff has been arrested after a video of his theft went viral
- The 37-year-old bike thief was caught on CCTV stealing a bike in broad daylight
- He is due to serve 16 weeks and has had to pay the victim compensation
A high-speed thief who stole a £600 bike in less than a minute has been locked up after his crime was caught on camera and shared thousands of times.
Dean Carey, 37, was captured on CCTV stealing the bike in broad daylight from outside a sports centre in Cardiff.
Mr Carey, himself from Ely, Cardiff, took just 40 seconds to steal the Cannondale Trax 4 bicycle, which was locked up close to the city’s Sophia Gardens.
Dean Carey caught on CCTV approaching a locked Cannondale Trax 4 bike outside of a sports centre in Cardiff
The thief is seen with a cigarette in his mouth and rummaging in his bag as he walks towards the £600 bike
A video of the theft, dubbed ‘gone in 40 seconds’, went viral on social media and led to the thief’s arrest.
Mr Carey was jailed for 16 weeks after admitting theft and was ordered to pay the victim £648 in compensation by Cardiff magistrates.
He was arrested as part of Operation Fulcrum, which saw a total of 43 people arrested in Cardiff in a 24-hour period.
Mr Carey is then seen tampering with the bike lock as he attempts to free it from the railings
Mr Carey took just 40 seconds to unlock the bike, which was secured outside of the fitness centre near Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens
He is then seen wheeling the bike away in broad daylight, unaware that his actions have been caught on CCTV
Inspector Paul Edwards, said: ‘Looking for and finding criminals is what we do every day, but pooling resources in this way enables us to focus all of our efforts on rounding up those who are wanted for offences.
‘There really is nowhere to hide and it is only a matter of time before we catch up with people.’