E-bike ridden by a six-year-old is among 65 vehicles seized in PSNI Belfast crackdown

From the Newshound archive · first published 22 September 2026 · last updated 23 September 2026.

A six-year-old child was among those stopped by Northern Ireland police during a three-day 'Weekend of Action' that saw 65 e-bikes and e-scooters seized across Belfast. Seven arrests were made for offences including drug supply and dangerous driving, and officers recovered £3,600 in cash along with suspected heroin, cocaine and cannabis. Inspector Matt Adams warned the seizure figures demonstrate the "scale of this problem" and said people have already been seriously hurt by illegally-ridden machines.

Under Northern Ireland law, e-scooters and e-bikes are classed as motor vehicles, requiring a licence, insurance, tax and number plates — conditions almost none of those seized met.

Police in Newry ran a separate simultaneous operation, seizing a further 25 e-scooters, three e-scramblers and a petrol scrambler over the same weekend.

More than 120 children in the Belfast Trust area were treated for injuries caused by e-scooters and e-bikes in the two years before July 2026.