MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Mason City police say bicycle thefts are on the rise this year as more thieves seek cash for drugs. The Globe Gazette reports there have already been 175 bikes reported stolen this year. In all of 2015, only 132 bikes were stolen. Mason City Police Lt. Rich Jensen says stolen bikes are often found in pieces in “little clandestine bicycle chop shops.” Jensen says the thefts are often linked to people seeking money for drugs.

When police searched an apartment last month, they found drug paraphernalia, two complete bikes, a pile of bicycle frames and dozens of bike parts. Adam Ochoa says he couldn’t believe it when his bike was recently stolen for the second time in five years.