In a city hungry for power during severe winter, an electricity transformer means a great deal, but daring thieves managed to steal a 30-ton transformer before the very eyes of people in southeastern Mardin province. The transformer would improve electricity infrastructure in a neighborhood where thousands lived and replace an outdated one.

İhlas News Agency reported that the thieves arrived with a crane and showed an apparently forged official document to suspecting locals before loading the transformer on a truck. Authorities are now searching for the transformer which is believed to be dismantled by suspects.

Mardin, like other cities in the southeastern region, has long suffered from problems in electricity infrastructure. Illegal use of electricity was once prevalent in the region and privatized utilities faced stiff resistance from locals refusing to pay bills they skipped to pay for years. Through new campaigns, including writing off unpaid bills, electricity providers managed to curb illegal use.