Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Banksy 'Girl With Balloon' Thief Jailed for 13 Months After London Gallery Heist

The judge deemed the brazen burglary too serious for a suspended sentence.

Overview

  • Larry Fraser, 49, pleaded guilty at Kingston Crown Court after Flying Squad officers arrested him within 48 hours and recovered the print on September 12 on the Isle of Dogs.
  • The signed 2004 'Girl with Balloon' print was valued at about £270,000 and was returned to the Grove Gallery without damage.
  • CCTV captured the September 8, 2024 break-in at the Fitzrovia gallery, where the glass door was smashed and the artwork taken.
  • Fraser told the court he acted under pressure over a historic drug debt, a claim set out in his basis of plea.
  • A second defendant, James Love, was previously found not guilty of the burglary after a trial.