LONDON — A man suspected of stealing an artwork by Banksy of a stop sign adorned with three military drones was arrested Saturday, London police said.
A man in his 20s was in custody on suspicion of theft and criminal damage, the Metropolitan police said.
A person on Friday removes a piece of artwork by Banksy in Peckham, southeast London.
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.
A person flees Friday with a piece of artwork by Banksy in Peckham, southeast London.
A witness who only wanted to be called Alex told the PA news agency that the small crowd of people that showed up to view the work stood around watching in awe as the scene unfolded.
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“We said, ‘What are you doing?’ But no one really knew what to do, we sort of just watched it happen,” Alex said. “We were all a bit bemused; there was some honking of car horns.”
Bystanders watch Friday as a person removes a piece of artwork by Banksy in Peckham, southeast London.
Jasmine Ali, deputy leader of the local borough council, called for the piece to be returned.
“It should not have been removed and we’d like it back so everyone in the community can enjoy Banksy’s brilliant work,” Ali said.
The stop sign was replaced.
Banksy’s thought-provoking and satirical art often takes aim at war. Many of his followers on Instagram interpreted the work as calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
Photos: Street artist Banksy’s work around the world
Virus outbreak Britain
Banksy’s Girl with a Pierced Eardrum mural is given a face mask in a nod to the coronavirus pandemic as the UK continued in lockdown in Bristol, England, on April 22, 2020. The graffiti takes its inspiration from “Girl with a Pearl Earring” by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)
Banksy
A member of the staff at Southampton General Hospital in England has a photograph taken in front of artwork titled “Game Changer,” painted by Banksy. (Andrew Matthews/PA via AP)
Italy Banksy
French Ambassador to Italy, Christian Masset, receives from Italian prosecutors a recovered stolen artwork by British artist Banksy, depicting a young female figure with a mournful expression, that was painted as a tribute to the victims of the 2015 terror attacks at the Bataclan music hall in Paris, during a ceremony at the French Embassy in Rome, Tuesday, July 14, 2020. The artwork was stolen in 2018 and recovered in June 2020 in Sant’Omero, central Italy by Italian Carabinieri. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
Italy Banksy
Italian authorities unveil a stolen artwork painted by the British artist Banksy as a tribute to the victims of the 2015 terror attacks at the Bataclan music hall in Paris, during a press conference in L’ Aquila, Italy, Thursday June, 11, 2020. The L’Aquila prosecutors office said the work was recovered during a search of a home in Tortoreto, a city near the Adriatic coast in the Abruzzo region’s Teramo province. (AP Photo/Andrea Rosa)
Italy Venice flooding
A view of a Banksy mural showing a migrant child wearing a life jacket and holding a flare, along a Venice canal in Italy, is seen Nov. 13, 2019. The high-water mark hit 74 inches, meaning more than 85% of the city was flooded. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Bethlehem
This March 3, 2017, photo shows a Banksy wall painting with an Israeli border police officer and a Palestinian in a pillow fight, decorating one of the rooms of the Walled Off Hotel in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic)
Bethlehem
Artwork dubbed “Scar of Bethlehem” by the artist Banksy is displayed in The Walled Off Hotel, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Britain
A woman walks past “Vote to Love” by Banksy at Sotheby’s contemporary art sale preview in London, Feb. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Britain Banksy
A woman walks past artwork by street artist Banksy on the side of a house in Bristol, England, Feb. 13, 2020. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)
Britain Banksy
A view of a mural by Bansky that was vandalized on the side of a house in Bristol, England, Feb. 15, 2020. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)
2018 Sundance Film Festival
A preserved piece of wall art by graffiti artist Banksy is seen along Main Street during the 2018 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 22, 2018, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP)
France Banksy
The painting “Stop and Search” (2007) by street artist Banksy hangs on a wall Oct. 18, 2018, in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Portugal Banksy
Curator Alexander Nachkebiya gestures in front of a print by British artist Banksy at an exhibition in Lisbon, Portugal, on June 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Britain Banksy
In this file photo dated Jan. 7, 2019, a mural by street artist Banksy, depicting a star being chiseled from the European flag, stands in Dover, England. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Australia Banksy
A man views an exhibition from the British street artist Banksy during a preview in Sydney, Sept. 12, 2019. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Britain Banksy
In this file photo dated Sept. 27, 2019, Sotheby’s gallery assistants handle Banksy’s Devolved Parliament painting. The derisive portrayal of the Britain’s House of Commons sold at auction for 9.9 million pounds (US dollars 12.2 miliion). (Jonathan Brady/PA FILE via AP)
France Banksy
The painting “Soup Can Yellow/Emerald/Brown” (2005) by street artist Banksy hangs on a wall Oct. 18, 2018, in Paris. The art piece was sold at auction. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Italy Banksy
A woman takes pictures during a press preview of the “A Visual Protest. The Art of Banksy” exhibition dedicated to British artist Banksy, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Brexit
This is a view of the Banksy Brexit mural of a man chipping away at the EU flag in Dover, England, on Dec. 11, 2018. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
Britain Banksy
In this file photo dated Dec. 20, 2018, artwork by Banksy on the side of a garage depicts a child dressed for snow playing in the falling ash and smoke from a skip fire in Port Talbot, Wales. The artwork was sold to an art dealer for a “six-figure sum.” (Ben Birchall/PA FILE via AP)
Britain Banksy
This photo shows Banksy’s latest work sprayed on the inside of a London Underground tube carriage.
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