Moment thief steals £270,000 Banksy print to pay off drug debt

A dramatic smash-and-grab burglary of a £270,000 Banksy print from a London gallery was captured on video. Larry Fraser, 49, of Evelyn Denington Road, Beckton, has been sentenced to 13 months in prison for the theft. The court heard Fraser had put forward a basis of a plea in said he stated he owed money due to a drug debt he was struggling to settle and agreed to commit the offence “under a degree of pressure and fear”. He was sentenced to 13 months in prison on Friday (14 November), having pleaded guilty in October to one count of non-residential burglary. CCTV showed the moment he stole the “Girl with Balloon” 2004 signed print at the Grove Gallery, Fitzrovia, on Sunday, 8 September 2024. Fraser used a hammer to smash the glass doors and hid his identity with a mask, gloves and a hooded jacket.