A farm equipment dealership in an occupied city of Ukraine has been raided by Russian troops - but the £4million of vehicles they stole can't even be turned on.
After a 700-mile journey, the thieves were unable to use any farm equipment from the dealership as they had been remotely disabled.
The past few weeks have seen growing numbers of reports of Russian troops stealing farm equipment, grain, and even building materials.
But the removal of important agricultural equipment from a John Deere dealership in Melitopol is the result of a more organisation operation, with Russian military transport used as part of the heist.
According to CNN, the equipment was worth almost £4million taken from an Agrotek dealership in Melitopol, which has been occupied by Russian forces since early March.
The combine harvesters alone are worth £240,000 each.
The process started with the seizure of two combine harvesters, a tractor and a seeder.
Over the following few weeks, all 27 pieces of farm machinery were stolen.
One of the flat-bed trucks used, and caught on camera, had a white "Z" painted on it and seemed to be a military truck.
There were rival groups of Russian troops, some of whom would come in the morning, and some in the evening.
Some of the machinery was taken to a nearby village, and some of it went overland to Chechyna, over 700 miles away.
The high quality of the machinery, equipped with GPS, ensured its travel could be tracked, and it was last located in the village of Zakhan Yurt in Chechnya.
The equipment ferried to Chechnya, which included combine harvesters, can also be controlled remotely.
The contact told CNN: "When the invaders drove the stolen harvesters to Chechnya, they realised that they could not even turn them on, because the harvesters were locked remotely."
It now seems to be left in a farm near Grozny, but the contact added that "it seems that the hiijackers have found consultants in Russia who are trying to bypass the protection".
The contact said: "Even if they sell harvesters for spare parts, they will earn some money."
Others in Melitopol believe theft by Russian military units has extended to grain captured in silos, in a region producing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of crops a year.
Another source said Russian forces were simply taking the grain, adding: "They steal it, take it to Crimea and that's it."
Last week the mayor of Melitopol posted a video showing a convoy of trucks leaving Melitopol allegedly loaded with grain.
The mayor said: "We have clear evidence that they unloaded grain from the Melitopol city elevator. They robbed the elevator along with private farms."
