Thieves normally steal objects that are easy to transport so it might have come as a surprise when one criminal reportedly made off with a whole stretch of road.
Just as confusing was the fact that no-one seemingly noticed part of the Russian highway had gone until the man had dismantled a large portion of it and removed 82 slabs of concrete.
The only possible explanations for this were he was either very quick when he made his getaway in the republic of Komi, or the place was deserted.
The street pieces were apparently loaded on to three large trucks after being chiselled off by a machine thought to be an industrial manipulator (a combined forklift and bulldozer).
The vehicles were later stopped by police.
The concrete was worth a total of £4,000 and a 40-year-old suspect from Syktyvkar has already confessed to the crime, according to the Russian government.
If he is prosecuted he could go to prison for a maximum of two years.
