text: Suddenly, in the middle of the New York night, Edward Snowden's familiar bespectacled face appeared - deep in a public park. A 4-foot-high, 100-pound sculpted bust of the infamous NSA whistle-blower now exiled in Russia was sneaked into Brooklyn's Fort Greene Park in the pre-dawn hours Monday. Animal New York, a city news website that first reported the incident, said the mysterious perpetrators were a trio of guerrilla artists — admirers of the former government contractor who had leaked thousands of pages of classified information from the National Security Agency detailing a massive domestic spying program to the media. Scroll down for video . Illicit tribute: A group of anonymous artists erected a 4-foot-tall plaster bust of Edward Snowden, the former US spy agency contractor famous for leaking classified information, in Brooklyn's Fort Greene Park early Monday morning . Looks familiar? The artists spent six months and $30,000 working on a life-like effigy of the 31-year-old whistle-blower (left) who has been living in exile in Moscow since 2013 . Perfect fit: The activists hoisted the bust to the top of a Revolutionary War memorial . The activists hoisted the unsanctioned bust to the top of a Revolutionary War memorial and secured it with an adhesive material, adding his name to a column, according to Animal New York. The website says the group allowed it to document installation of the statue on the condition that it not reveal the identities of the artists. Snowden's artistic appearance was short-lived. At daybreak, police said city parks officials ordered the sculpted Snowden removed from the top of Prison Ship Martyrs Monument, which honors the 11,500 patriots who died aboard British prison ships during the Revolutionary War. And by evening, his bust was being held at Brooklyn's 88th Precinct pending an investigation. The idea for the tribute was conceived by two New York City-based artists, joined by a West Coast sculptor, Animal New York said. In a statement to the online outlet, they said they had 'updated' the memorial to American POWs who died during the war for independence 'to highlight those who sacrifice their safety in the fight against modern-day tyrannies. 'It would be a dishonor to those memorialized here to not laud those who protect the ideals they fought for, as Edward Snowden has by bringing the NSA's 4th-Amendment-violating surveillance programs to light. From Russia with love: The statue appeared just hours after HBO aired comedian John Oliver's interview with Snowden on his weekly show Last Week Tonight (pictured) Cover-up: By noon, employees of the New York City Parks Department arrived on the scene and covered the unsanctioned artwork with a blue tarp . Rogue art: The parks department said the erection of any unapproved structure or artwork in a city park is illegal . Snowden selfie: Park-goers rushed to document the impromptu art installation before it was removed . Blended in: The color and style of the artwork matched the rest of the monument so well that many people walking their dogs in the park early Monday morning did not notice anything amiss . 'Our goal is to bring a renewed vitality to the space and prompt even more visitors to ponder the sacrifices made for their freedoms. We hope this inspires them to reflect upon the responsibility we all bear to ensure our liberties exist long into the future.' Following Edward Snowden's well-documented defection to Russia in 2013, the 31-year-old whistle-blower has emerged as a highly polarizing figure in the national debate, with the Obama administration and right-wing politicians labeling him a traitor, and those on the left praising him for exposing broad civil rights violations by the intelligence community. ‘If you look at history, the people we honor with statues now — certainly the people rebelling against the British rules — were criminals one day,’ the creators of the Snowden bust told Mashable. ‘Now they're heroes. We’re wondering if on the long arc of time Snowden will be considered a hero, too.’ It took the anonymous artists six months  to sculpt, mold and cast Snowden's likeness worth $30,000 out of a high-quality plaster-like material called hydrocal, and then have it shipped to New York. Towering figure: Snowden has emerged as a highly polarizing figure in the aftermath of his defection to Russia in 2013 . The artists said they chose the monument in the  park because it honors the 11,500 American patriots who died aboard British prison ships during the Revolutionary War . To be continued? The activists said they still have a mold of the statue and a 3D rendering of it, so they are capable of creating multiple copies in various sizes . The color and style of the artwork matched the rest of the monument so perfectly that many people walking their dogs in the park early Monday morning did not bat an eye at the sight of the notorious whistle-blower's face staring down at them from the top of a pillar. By noon, New York City parks officials wrapped the bronze-colored bust with a blue tarp and yanked it from the pedestal. The block letters spelling Snowdon’s name below a brass eagle were also removed. Workers had to use a pulley to lower the illicit artwork to the ground and load onto a truck to haul it away. ‘The erection of any unapproved structure or artwork in a city park is illegal,’ the parks department said in a statement. The guerrilla artists apparently knew going in that their bold tribute to Snowden was not long for this world. Down he goes: Workers had to use a pulley to lower the illicit artwork to the ground . Hauled away: The illicit bust was taken to a local police precinct pending an investigation . ‘We look at this as a gift to the city, but, you know, gifts are sometimes not accepted,’ one of the activist said in a video about the project titled Prison Ship Martyrs Monument 2.0. The installation of the sculpture came hours after HBO aired John Oliver's interview with Edward Snowden on the comedian’s show Last Week Tonight. ‘I do miss my country,’ he told Oliver. ‘I do miss my home. I do miss my family.’ As for Snowden's plaster likeness, it may not be the last time it pops up in a public space. The activists said they still have a mold of the statue and a 3D rendering of it, so they are capable of creating multiple copies in various sizes and spreading them around the country.
target: Activists installed Snowden's bust on top of century-old Prison Ship Martyrs Monument at Fort Greene Park before dawn Monday .
  It took them six months to create the 4-foot-high, 100-pound bust sculpted out of plaster-like material and made to look like bronze .
  Bust was accompanied by block letters spelling out 'SNOWDEN'
  Less than 10 hours after installation, parks workers swooped in and took down the statue .
  The unsanctioned bust appeared in the park just hours after HBO aired John Oliver's interview with Edward Snowden .