The moment Damien Hirst paintings worth £33k are stolen in 'ninja' London gallery raid

 
Handout CCTV footage dated 9/12/13 issued by the Exhibition Gallery, showing the moment two signed Damian Hirst works of art worth £33,000 were stolen from the gallery on Blenheim Crescent, Notting Hill. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Thursday Decem
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A burglar dressed like “a ninja” stole two Damien Hirst artworks worth £33,000 from a London gallery, the manager told today.

Nathan Engelbrecht said the thief was in and out of the Exhibition Gallery in Notting Hill in less than a minute during the raid in the early hours of Monday morning.

CCTV footage showed the man breaking through the front doors after 3am before grabbing the “spot painting” works and speeding off in a dark hatchback.

Mr Engelbrecht told the Standard: “Getting the works was a real coup for a young gallery like ours. The work came in on Friday and was gone by Monday, it is a real blow.

Missing: "Oleoylsarcosine" was created in 2008 and is worth £18,000 (Picture: Metropolitan Police)
Metropolitan Police

“We have CCTV of the guy. He was dressed like a ninja, covered from head to foot and with goggles. He was in and out in 60 seconds it was bang, bang, bang.

“He knew what he was looking for. We were supposed to open the exhibition now we have to find other work to show.”

The suspect was captured on the camera footage heading in the direction of Labroke Grove from the building on Blenheim Crescent.

The stolen works, called Pyronin Y and Oleoylsarcosine, feature the artist’s recognisable multi-coloured dots and are signed.

VIDEO EXCLUSIVE below

Police believe they were specifically targeted and are urging any witnesses to come forward.

Pyronin Y is the larger of the two. It was produced in 2005 and is worth £15,000. The second piece, Oleoylsarcosine was created in 2008 and is worth £18,000.

Hirst, who was awarded the Turner Prize in 1995, rose to fame as part of the Young British Artists and is best known for a series of works in which he preserved animals, including a shark and a sheep, in formaldehyde.

His more recent works include Verity, a 66ft bronze-plated statue of a pregnant, naked woman wielding a sword, which was unveiled on Ilfracombe harbour in north Devon last October.

Detective Sergeant Jon Lightfoot, from Kensington and Chelsea Borough, said: “It appears the suspect has specifically targeted the two pieces.

“The items would have been visible in the back of the car and we are appealing for any witnesses or anyone with information to please come forward.”

A spokesman for the artist said: “This is a police matter and I’m afraid we cannot comment.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Serious Acquisitive Crime Unit at Notting Hill Police Station on 020 8246 0230 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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