A man suspected of stealing an artwork by Banksy of a stop sign adorned with three military drones, was arrested Saturday, December 23, London police said. A man in his 20s was in custody on suspicion of theft and criminal damage, the Metropolitan police said.
The sign was taken less than an hour after the elusive street artist posted a photo of the work on his Instagram page Friday.
Video showed a man with bolt cutters climbing up on a bicycle to remove the work from a sign post on a street corner in the Peckham area of south London while another man steadied the bike. The man who cut the sign free then ran off with it in his hand. A voice on a video of the incident could be heard saying, "it makes me so annoyed," as the man ran away.
Jasmine Ali, deputy leader of the local borough council, called for the piece to be returned. "It should not have been removed and wed like it back so everyone in the community can enjoy Banksy's brilliant work," Ali said.
The stop sign was replaced.