Skip to main content

Dangerous contents

Car thieves in the Russian city of St Petersburg may have got more than they bargained for when they stole a Mercedes SUV. The vehicle owner and his driver were settling his pet Asian Leopard Cat into the rear of the car when the thieves struck.
February 28, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Car thieves in the Russian city of St Petersburg may have got more than they bargained for when they stole a Mercedes SUV. The vehicle owner and his driver were settling his pet Asian Leopard Cat into the rear of the car when the thieves struck. The car owner has offered a reward of US$91,000 for the return of the leopard but said that as long as the animal is returned he will not press charges and is not asking for the vehicle to be returned. The rare breed of Asian Leopard Cat is worth around $350,000 and was a gift from a Moscow businessman he had dealings with. The animal is native to Russia's southern border with China and across Southeast Asia but although only a few thousand of the species remain, it is not considered endangered.

Related Content

  • Russia and Azerbaijan move closer to a new Samur River Bridge
    June 4, 2015
    Moscow-based infrastructure group Doraeroproekt Institute will design a bridge over the Samur River under an agreement between Russia and Azerbaijan. The new bridge will carry around 37,000 vehicles a day and link the two villages of Samur in Azerbaijan and the Russian village of Yarag-Kazmalar. The announcement follows the signing by the two governments of a bridge protocol in mid-2013 as part of other infrastructure project agreements. Azerbaijan will finance bridge construction and Russia will c
  • Construction consortium conquers in contract for Moscow-St Petersburg highway section
    May 13, 2014
    A consortium has won a key construction and concession contract in Russia for a stretch of the Moscow-St Petersburg highway. The construction consortium comprises contractor Vinci and Russian Bank VTB. The deal involves around US$1.7 billion of public financing for the construction phase and some $983 million for operation for the period of the contract. The concession package involves construction of the highway section, as well as operation for a 24 year period. The construction work will be carried out b
  • Tackling the UK's traffic congestion
    February 28, 2012
    The biggest problem on UK roads is congestion, and there is no shortage of ideas as to how it should be tackled. Patrick Smith reports. Congestion (and how to relieve it), along with safety, are among the top priorities facing those responsible for looking after the UK's roads. Road pricing, car-share lanes, greener vehicle initiatives and alternative methods of transport such as buses, trams and rail are all part of the approach, but prior to the current economic climate the nation's love affair with the c
  • Make the case for electronic tolling, ASECAP conference delegates heard
    September 14, 2015
    Mobility pricing and electronic tolling is the future, delegates to a recent ASECAP Study Days conference, reports Geoff Hadwick at the Lisbon event. The international road tolling industry is failing to make its case and the sector is losing out to other social and political lobby groups. As a result, “tolling is still on the sidelines”, according to the head of the Washington-based International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association. IBTTA chief executive Pat Jones issued his stark warning at the