Photo: Delta Police

Police in Delta are investigating the theft of a large shipping container of high-end bikes worth up to $800,000, and say some of them have surfaced in Ontario.

Police say in a release that boxes of the unassembled 2019 models of Rocky Mountain bikes arrived in Delta on Sept. 24 but the container was removed that evening by a semi-truck that is believed to have been stolen from nearby Richmond.

The Delta Police Department says the 160 bikes retail for between $3,000 to $6,000 each and include the Slayer Carbon 50, Altitude Powerplay, Pipeline and Altitude models.

They were supposed to be sent to various dealers across Canada before they disappeared.

Police say the empty container was found abandoned at the side of a highway the next day.

The department says it did not immediately alert the public because it was pursuing a variety of leads but now some of the bikes have recently started showing up in Ontario.