London police have arrested two men accused of stealing Banksy’s latest work, less than an hour after confirming the art on Friday.
Banksy’s piece consisted of three military drones being placed on a red stop sign and was located in the Peckham section of south London, according to the Associated Press.
The sign was taken in the middle of the day by a man holding bold cutters, while witnesses took pictures and shot video of the heist.
After Banksy posted a picture of the sign on Instagram, some people predicted it would not last long, as some of his works have sold for tens of millions of dollars.
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One onlooker, who only wanted to be referred to as Alex, told the Associated Press he went to see the stop sign before anything happened to it. He, along with many onlookers, watched as a man in a red and black jacket climbed onto a bike next to the bolted sign and began hitting it with his hands.
“We said, ‘what are you doing?’ but no one really knew what to do, we sort of just watched it happen,” Alex told the AP. “We were all a bit bemused; there was some honking of car horns.”
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A person removes a piece of art work by Banksy, which shows what looks like three drones on a traffic stop sign, which was unveiled at the intersection of Southampton Way and Commercial Way in Peckham, southeast London, on Friday. (Aaron Chown/PA via AP)
The man left and returned a few minutes later with a pair of bolt cutters. Another man reportedly stabilized a rental bike he stood on before removing it and fleeing.
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A person removes a piece of artwork by Banksy, which shows what looks like three drones on a traffic stop sign, which was unveiled at the intersection of Southampton Way and Commercial Way in Peckham, southeast London, on Friday. (Aaron Chown/PA via AP)
On Saturday, London police arrested a man in his 20s on suspicion of theft and criminal damage, who was later released on bail.
Then on Sunday, a second suspect, this time a man in his 40s, was taken into custody on charges of theft and criminal damage.
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Banksy is known for thought-provoking street art, and often makes political statements with his work. Many of his Instagram followers interpreted his latest work as a call for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.