Police in Hamilton say that they have dismantled a ‘bike chop shop’ operating out of a downtown encampment.

Police say that officers were dispatched to the encampment near Main and King streets after receiving information about numerous suspected stolen bicycles in the area.

A total of eight suspected stolen bicycles were ultimately seized from the location.

Police say that some of them had already been painted or dismantled “making identification of the bicycle owners difficult.”

“Police would like to remind community members that the best way to ensure your property can be returned to you is to register bicycles through our online bike registry,” police said in a press release. “On average, 450 bicycles are stolen in Hamilton every year, and only four per cent are recovered. Only 30 per cent of recovered bicycles are returned to their owner because police often have a hard time matching the bicycle to its owner.”

Police say that while they were investigating the stolen bicycles, a citizen came up and reported that someone had stolen the steel bicycle rack from a nearby McDonald's parking lot the night prior.

Officers attended the McDonald's and ultimately discovered surveillance footage that captured the theft.

A 50-year-old Hamilton man has been charged with theft under $5,000 in connect with that incident.

So far no charges have been laid in connection with the discovery of the suspected stolen bicycles.