Thousands of people in North Ossetia, Russia, were left without electricity and heat recently when thieves stole 1600 m of high voltage power line from the outskirts of Vladikavkaz. Theft of non-ferrous metals has become common in the republic with thieves destroying power substations and other sources of metal and then selling the material to non-ferrous scrap offices. The thefts are believed to be the work of professionals and investigations by the authorities rarely produce results.