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Siberia Police Detains Spider-Man Bicycle Thief

Police in Siberia have detained a "Spider-Man" burglar on suspicion of scaling apartment buildings to steal bicycles from their balconies, the Interior Ministry said.

A witness spotted the man while he was climbing down a rain pipe on Sunday night, carrying a bike he had supposedly lifted from one of the building's balconies, the Irkutsk regional branch of the ministry said Wednesday in a statement.

Residents of the building then intercepted the burglar, thwarting the heist, the statement said.

The man is also suspected of stealing another bicycle from a third-floor balcony a day earlier and police are investigating whether he might have been behind several similar burglaries in the past.

If convicted, the agile 41-year-old faces up to six years in prison, the police statement said.

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