ART dealer John Brandler has spent 30 years buying and selling some of the most fashionable work in the world and regards himself as one of the shrewdest dealers in the business.
So when the bad news came that he had been ripped off by a credit card fraudster, he was ready to hit back.
In February, his bank informed him that two payments totalling £13,500 for a pair of important Banksy works were fraudulent.
The money was withdrawn from his account and returned to the card holder, leaving him without the cash or art.
When a caller using the same female pseudonym called his Coptfold Road gallery requesting two pieces by the Bristol-born street artist worth a combined £10,000, he contacted the police and the Gazette.
That order was never posted – instead a washing machine lid was delivered to an address in Plumstead, where on Friday, February 8 police arrested a 25-year-old man.
This suspect has now been bailed pending further enquiries.
Officers searched an address in Charlton, believed to be linked to the suspect, where they recovered Wrong War.
The artwork No Ball Games was recovered after a member of the public purchased it from the suspect.
He became suspicious of the transaction and contacted the gallery directly, subsequently returning the artwork.
Mr Brandler said he believes an attempt to purchase a £20,000 Damien Hirst from him was also fraudulent.
Art crime is estimated to be worth $6 billion globally.
Mr Brandler says he has evidence that art galleries in Kent, Newcastle, Los Angeles and New York had also fallen for similar scams in the past.
He said: "Crime involving art is huge. Art is an international currency.
"A Banksy is worth the same here in Brentwood as it is in Hong Kong or New York. It is dead easy to move illegally gained profits across borders."
However, Mr Brandler has saved much of his scorn for the banks, which he said took no interest when his suspicions were first raised after an art dealer acquaintance in Kent warned him about the scam.
"I asked the bank if they could confirm if the two cards used to buy Wrong War and No Ball Games were registered to the same person or if there was any fraud associated with them.
"They didn't want to know. About 36 hours later the money had been taken back out of my account.
"It's no loss to them."
Detective Sergeant Geoff Grogan from Greenwich CID said: "We acted very quickly after the victim contacted us and this gave us the opportunity not only to make an arrest, but also to recover the artworks.
"We believe that there may be more than one person involved. We are also in the process of contacting the card-holders who were unaware that their cards were being used. Our investigation is still open and will continue".
One card used in the transaction is registered to a holder in Arizona. Police are trying to identify the second.
