Recovery Description

One evening in February to my great surprise I spotted my bicycle chained to a tree in front of a restaurant on Edgware Road, practically on the opposite side of the road of the location where it had been stolen, outside Waitrose, two months before!!! After a quick examination to ascertain it was my own bike I started asking people around if they knew who it belonged to. Then I went inside the restaurant (Tarboush) and asked a man, stocky build, wearing a beard and a woolen beanie hat who said the bike was his. I asked him where did he get it from and he said "Birmingham". I said that was not possible, since I was sure that was my bike that had been stolen, outside Waitrose, two months before. He picked up his phone and called someone speaking in Arabic, I think. I could only make out the words "stolen" and "Waitrose" being said. Then he said he bought the bike for £120 from a guy who sells bikes in Vauxhall Market where he trades on Sundays (not Birmingham this time). I said to him that he'd bought stolen property and that I wanted my bike back. He became rather agitated, saying he was an honest business man that he had his own business up the road and that he delivered vegetables to local restaurants. When I asked he wouldn't give me his name or tell me precisely where his business was based. He asked me for £60 to give my bike back. I was very nervous and a little frightened but very keen to recover my bike immediately and wasn't sure how he would react if I started calling the Police. My judgement was perhaps a little clouded, but I decided to pay the £60 and get out of there as soon as possible with the bike and let the Police investigate later. I couldn't say if it was this man who stole my bicycle but I'm under the impression that he knows the person who did. I went back to Tarboush Restaurant the next day and asked a waiter if he knew this delivery man. He said he wasn't on duty on that day, but that his colleague named Rami was. Mr. Rami might know who was this delivery person I was asking about. I reported these facts to the police and they are investigating. Apparently they found a contact number for this man and will try and recover my £60. Fingers crossed!