Thieves who stole a 17.5m long stone bridge one night have finally been arrested, although they sold the bridge on before it could be recovered.
In November, villagers in the environs of Shanghai reported that the Fengle bridge, a historic 17.5m long stone bridge built in 1907, had disappeared, leaving only two supports standing.
Police eventually solved the mystery when they received a report from someone who had witnessed them dismantling the bridge in September, and had taken down their truck’s registration details.
After tracing the truck’s owner, they were told it had been loaned to the thieves, allowing police to effect the arrest of the two men responsible.
The local police chief says they admit making off with the bridge by cover of night:
“The two men confessed that they used two cranes and two trucks that night to lift and remove the 16 stone pieces that formed the floor of the bridge.”
The stone remains of the bridge were subsequently sold in another province, with the thieves having been paid some 30,000 yuan ($4,700) by a trader to make off with the structure.
A local museum official comments that the area only has 20 bridges left, of the 100 counted a century ago – roads, ruin and theft are cited as causes of this decline. Plans are afoot to rebuild the stolen structure.
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They stole....a bridge?
China never fails to
*sunglasses*
blow my mind.
Someone stole a Bridge in NY last year and sold it for scrapes.
Police later find out the criminals were in the employ of Carmen Sandiego, and her International landmark thievery ring
DO IT, ROCKAPELLA!
Dammit, someone stole what I was going to post.
Trolls stealing bridge? What is this? I don't even...
maybe they wanted to live under it, but thought the location was too far out of the way.
maybe there were no longer billie goats crossing
Maybe they weren't fat enough. No green grass on the other side?
They'll be caught when the bridge explodes
You're forgetting the rule of "They don't make 'em like they do in the old days." At least they're solid stone blocks compared to hollow cement structure filled with rubbish...
"..the area only has 20 bridges left.."
Nope shit still exploded back then too but they just take a little longer it seems
It'll be a pretty damn big fireworks when the great wall explodes then. lol
Damn I hope those fireworks will actually be visible from space!
As expected from country that invented gunpowder
Bet the dragons in their legends use gunpowder when they breathe fire
actually that's a solved legend..
- China explodes comment? Check
- Perfect rating? Check
- The absolute perfect poster to make the comment? Check
I do love the front page.
i-i um.. what? now that would be taking the whole exploding china thing a bit too far.. wait nvm everything else has blown up so why not blow up the hundred year old bridge
How the hell do you steal a bridge!?
Clearly with a truck.
carmen sandiego Lives!!!!
Hide your wife, hide your kids, hide your husband and even your bridges cause they stealing everybody out here. You don't have to come and confess! We looking for you! we gonna find you! we gonna find you! so you can run and tell that run and tell that home boy!
I thought they download the bridge.
WTH?
That makes no sense at all...but hey...it is the Chinese.
FUCK YOUM PUERCYY
How do you steal a bridge without being caught the first second?
who steals a bridge honestly
At least they were smart enough to steal from the right side of the bridge...imagine taking the bridge apart and then realizing you couldn't cross back over it.
if you believe this, I've got a bridge to sell you.
Man, Lupin wouldn't've gotten caught.
I like the picture of what a 17.5m bridge might look like.
@Arte,... You couldn't just take a pic of an overpass in your own neighborhood?
No one would of recognized it other than an urban bridge. Just like the country bridge described in your artecle.
Nao - mebe you could of gotten some busty cosplayers to pose on said urban bridge for a gag or two.
a 17 meter bridge isn't that big. It could easily be dismantled. The fact likes though is who would even bother stealing a bridge?
I assume it has some sort of historic value, considering it's over a century old.
Either that, or for building materials, because lord knows we Chinese used better building materiel back then than we do these days.
Chinese FTW
Best time to close down the rest of the bridges and replace them with a new one that require a toll to pass through.
17.5m bridge stolen in the brink of night in...China... Hm... China quality?
I can just see them trying to explain this to people wanting to cross the bridge the next day.
Someguy: What happened to the bridge? Was there a collapse or something?
Officialguy: It was stolen.
Someguy: ......
Someguy: Ha ha, no really. What happened to the bridge?
Officialguy: Somebody. Stole. The. Damned. Thing.
Someguy: If you're not gonna take this seriously....
Dude, where's my bridge?
Oh China, What will you steal/blowup next?
They got ripped off. XD
k, lemme get this straight
they stole...an entire bridge...with only 2 trucks...it only took a few hours...and there was no traffic or anything?
the hell
"Plans are afoot to rebuild the stolen structure."
With a modern "made in China" rubbish-based bridge, no doubt.
I honestly can't make out which one is the bizarre thing here; the thieves having enough guts to steal away a bridge or the bridge being so easy to be dismantled to be stolen..
.. oh, and the lack of security to keep an eye on the bridge.
You forgot the fact that there's a buyer for the bridge.
Best comment ever.
chinese lupin
video news broadcast(chinese):
http://www.dragontv.cn/news/dongfangyexinwen/2011-12-30/3316.html
Fast forward to 1:15 for picture of the bridge.
The polices Dell monitor looked faked tbh
Stealing whole bridges? What is this, a Carmen Sandiego game?
"Meanwhile, police are still on the lookout for Russ T. Hinge, the chief suspect in the theft of the Yellow River."