Forget the luxury cars that cram Moscow's streets - Russian thieves are chasing dump trucks, cranes and asphalt pavers to feed a ravenous construction boom.
Thieves have removed 40 Russian-made Kamaz trucks and 13 cranes, cement-mixers and other pieces of heavy machinery from the capital's construction sites in the last three months, local media said on Wednesday.
"Just recently an asphalt-paver was carried away in broad daylight, right off the street," Igor Agapkin from Moscow police told the Izvestia newspaper.
A construction boom in Moscow and large cities across Russia is fuelling demand for construction equipment that cannot be met by domestic supply.
Long-term projects make leasing expensive in Russia, and police said finding stolen items was "very rare."
"Theft of a crane, for example, is a difficult undertaking,” Agapkin said.
“They have to get past police posts, get to the 'chop-shop', completely change the vehicle's appearance, licence plates, repaint.”