This March 24, 2017 picture of a worker fixing a railway track in Ahmedabad, India, used here for representaion. Reuters/Amit Dave
Saint Petersburg: Police in Saint Petersburg said Wednesday that they have arrested a man for stealing more than 275 tonnes of rail track.
Armed only with a spanner and pliers, the unemployed 38-year-old, who was caught red-handed, stole pieces of metal that connected the rail tracks, the police said in a statement.
They did not specify over what period of time the metal was stolen, but said the total booty weighed in at more than 275 tonnes.
The thief faces a jail sentence of up to five years.
With metal fetching around 14,000 roubles ($220, 190 euros) per tonne, even small pieces are frequently stolen in Russia, particularly on the railways.
