Beat that! This man stole a highway in Russia

Representational image | Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons/Andrew

Moscow: No country in the world is immune from corruption and public officials top the list of corrupt persons.

However, this public official in Russia did something no one could even think of trying – steal a highway!

As per CNN, a senior Russian prison official in northern Komi province has been accused of permitting illegal dismantling and removal of over 7,000 concrete slabs from a 50-kilometre stretch of a highway and selling them.

Russia's Investigative Committee revealed the 'heist' in a statement and named the official as Alexander Protopopov.

Protopopov was overseeing the Federal Penitentiary Service in Komi.

As per the report, the slabs were unlawfully removed over a period between June 2014 and August 2015.

The embezzlement cost the government six million rubles (around USD 79,000).

The official has been arrested, the statement said.

Other local officials suspected to have assisted Protopopov in removing the slabs are also being probed, prosecutors said.