Two men charged with stealing Banksy painting from London gallery
The men were charged following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police flying squad after the artwork was stolen from a gallery in New Cavendish Street, central London, on Sunday.
Two men have been charged with burglary after Banksy's famous Girl With Balloon painting was stolen from a London gallery, police have said.
Larry Fraser, 47, of Beckton, east London, and James Love, 53, of North Stifford, Essex, were charged with non-residential burglary on Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police said.
They appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates Court the next day and were bailed to appear at Kingston Crown Court on 9 October.
The painting, one of the street artist's most famous, was stolen from a gallery in New Cavendish Street in London at around 11pm on Sunday 8 September.
According to court papers, the print stolen from the Grove Gallery was valued at £270,000.
Following an investigation by the Met's flying squad, it has now been recovered and will be returned to the gallery, police added.
The street artist usually leaves months between pieces, but the animal-themed works continued to pop up one day after the other.
The fourth in the series, a silhouette of a howling wolf painted on a satellite dish, was stolen within hours of appearing in Rye Lane, Peckham, southeast London.
People wearing balaclavas were seen approaching the flat roof building it was on with a ladder, before climbing up and removing the dish.
The last of the nine images, a gorilla painted onto a shutter at London Zoo, was removed by staff for "safe-keeping".
-SKY NEWS
