Spanish police smash Banksy fakes syndicate

Police in Catalonia have claimed to have smashed a ring of scammers who allegedly forged works by street artist Banksy and sold them across Europe and the US for up to €1,500 (£1,280) apiece. Officers arrested two people in the north-eastern Spanish city of Zaragoza where the fakes were allegedly made and two others suspected of having put the works on sale, Catalonia’s regional police force said in a statement. Police suspect the ring sold at least 25 works made with spray paint on cardboard, in specialised shops, Barcelona auction houses and online to customers in Germany, Scotland, Switzerland, Spain and the US. While the two people who made the copies of Banksy’s work mostly sold them at “reasonable prices no higher than 80 euros”, the two individuals with “knowledge of the art world” found ways to fetch much higher prices by passing them off as real. Together, the group’s swindle is believed to have gained more than €10,000, with some of their victims paying €1,500 for individual works. The ring forged certificates claiming the works had been created by Banksy as part of his Dismaland project, a temporary exhibition that resembled a depressing theme park set up in 2015...