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Published December 24, 2023, 9:00 am ET
A man has been taken into custody on suspicion of stealing Banksy's latest art installation. ZUMAPRESS.com
A man suspected of stealing a Banksy piece featuring three military drones on a stop sign – less than an hour after the elusive artist unveiled it – was arrested in London on Saturday.
A man in his 20s was taken into custody on suspicion of theft and criminal damage, the Metropolitan Police said.
He will remain in custody while the investigation continues, authorities added.
The unidentified man and a cohort were photographed using bolt cutters to tear the anti-war artwork from a traffic post in the Peckham district on Friday afternoon, less than an hour after the piece was discovered.
One of the men was seen balancing on a rented bike to reach the sign while the other man held the bike still for him.
The man who cut out the sign quickly ran away with the sign in his hand as shocked onlookers shouted at the couple to stop.
A man has been taken into custody on suspicion of stealing Banksy's latest art installation. ZUMAPRESS.com
The incident occurred shortly after the anonymous graffiti artist announced the location of his latest work with photos of it on Instagram at around 12:30 p.m. local time.
A witness, identified only as Alex, told the Evening Standard that a handful of people were “kind of admiring it and taking photos” as the thieves approached.
“This guy comes and grabs it, we watched in awe as he hit it. He put the Lime bike under the sign, stood on the Lime bike and tried to hit the sign, he hit it with his hands and it didn't go anywhere,” he said.
The man who was taken into custody was in his mid-20s, according to authorities. ZUMAPRESS.com
“At some point he fell off the Lime bike. He disappeared and walked away and about two minutes later he reappeared with bolt cutters and tried and tried and tried while everyone watched.
The onlooker added: “He ripped it off, ran across the street and ran away. “He didn't say anything. The art itself didn’t seem to be that important to him.”
Jasmine Ali, deputy chairwoman of the local district council, called for the piece to be returned.
Shortly thereafter, officers installed a new stop sign at that location. AP
“It should not have been removed and we would like to have it back so everyone in the community can enjoy Banksy’s brilliant work,” Ali said.
Social media users speculated that the red STOP sign artwork was linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict amid calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The stop sign has since been replaced.
Banksy's artwork can fetch top prices on the resale market, with a half-crushed piece fetching about $25 million at auction in 2018.
With post wires.
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