MIAMI -- A man was arrested Tuesday after he strapped a lamppost onto the top of a van and tried to sell it for scrap at a recycling center, Miami police said.

Elio Valera had recycling in mind when he strapped the light pole to the top of a borrowed van and drove it about 40 blocks to a recycling center near Northwest Seventh Avenue and 21st Street, where he intended to sell it for a few hundred dollars.

"It's been on the ground for three months," Valera told Local 10's Mark Joyella. "Nobody's picked it up. So if they don't want to recycle and use it, I'll do it."

He tried and was arrested, facing charges of theft and dealing in stolen property. Still, even the Miami Police Department's top cop marveled at how Valera traveled 40 blocks in city traffic with a light pole tied to a van by just some rope without causing a crash -- even tying red rags to both ends of the pole to warn drivers of his oversized load.

"Well, 40 years in the business, three cities, lots of experience, I've never seen anything like this," Miami Police Chief John Timoney commented.

Valera had hoped to sell the lamppost as scrap but was arrested before attempting to make the sale.

"I mean, it was a crazy idea, but…" Valera said as his voice trailed off.

While officers were arresting Valera, another man approached the recycling center with a stolen Miami-Dade County sewer cover in a shopping cart. Joseph Moniz was also arrested and faces similar charges.

In the end, it took a team of two with a high-tech truck to move what Valera only needed a van and some rope to accomplish.