Moment thief steals valuable Banksy print from London gallery

Описание: This is the moment a brazen thief was caught on CCTV stealing a limited edition Banksy print from an art gallery.

Larry Fraser, 49, broke into the Grove Gallery in Fitzrovia, central London, in September 2024 and swiped the signed print belonging to the street artist’s Girl With Balloon series to pay off a historic drug debt.

Sentencing him on Friday, Judge Anne Brown said: “This is a brazen and serious non-domestic burglary.”

Kingston Crown Court heard Fraser, who pleaded guilty to one count of burglary, may be eligible for immediate release due to time spent on electronic curfew.

The artwork had been part of an exhibition showcasing a £1.5 million collection of 13 Banksy pieces at the gallery and was quickly recovered by officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad.

Grove Gallery manager, Lindor Mehmetaj, 29, thanked police for recovering the work.

He said: “I was completely, completely shocked, but in a very, very positive way when the Flying Squad showed me the actual artwork.

“It’s very hard to put into words, the weight that comes off your shoulders.

“The way that they dealt with it from the moment they arrived on the scene: pragmatic, logical, very composed and ultimately professional.

“But also, to have the artwork recovered after it had been robbed from us is remarkable.”

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