Inside the gruesome world of the Nullo castration cult whose followers use amateur ‘cutters’ or even vets to remove their genitals, inspired by a Japanese artist who sold his penis and testicles to eat for £800

It’s a practice that, even just described, makes most people squirm in their seats.

The bizarre – and growing – Nullo movement sees mainly male subscribers cutting off their own genitals and sometimes their nipples.

Many opt for a ‘smoothie’, a procedure that gives them a completely smooth groin, and more than half of these people use amateur ‘cutters’ – often doctors or vets – or do it themselves

The most famous modern ‘Nullo’ is Japanese artist Mao Sugiyama, who had his penis and testicles surgically removed by a doctor in March 2012 before charging guests. His nipples have also been removed.

They were declared free of infection and were frozen for two months before being served at a banquet in Suginami, a residential area in western Tokyo.

After initially offering to cook his penis for a single guest for £800, he ended up charging five guests £160 each to eat the meal, which was garnished with mushrooms and parsley. Police charged him with indecent exposure.

Yesterday, Romanian hotel worker Ion Ciucur admitted to taking part in a castration by clamping as part of a plot where the procedures were streamed live on a website called ‘the Eunuch Makers’. Nathaniel Arnold, 46, Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 23, and Damien Brynes, 36, removed body parts of alleged ringleader Marius Gustavson (above) and will be sentenced on January 12.

Yesterday, Romanian hotel worker Ion Ciucur admitted to taking part in a castration by clamping as part of a plot where the procedures were streamed live on a website called ‘the Eunuch Makers’.

Appearing at the Old Bailey he admitted conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm in relation to two amendments.

Nathaniel Arnold, 46, Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 23, and Damien Brynes, 36, removed body parts of alleged ringleader Marius Gustavson and will be sentenced on January 12.

There are an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 volunteer ‘Nullos’ worldwide, although the actual number is unknown.

Astonishingly, two-thirds never tell anyone they don’t have genitals, including their families, according to a 2014 academic study.

The group is said to identify as ‘Nullos’ – short for genital destruction – a subculture that meets through online forums.

The group was probably inspired by the asexual Japanese illustrator Mao Sugiyama

Many of the “cutters” – jargon for those who perform the procedure – have a medical background. Those who have had their genitals removed also claim that veterinarians have been known to do this.

A man named William previously told the Daily Beast that he decided to spend the money to do it in a hospital.

He said: ‘The risk of something going wrong is extremely high.

“I also don’t want to look like Frankenstein at the end of the procedure.”

A castrated minister named Benedict said, “It is not nearly as strange and difficult to try to become a eunuch now as it was thirty years ago.

‘Now we have doctors who don’t even blink an eye when you say you just want to remove your testicles, or just add a vagina. I never saw this coming.”

Diners at the exclusive banquet in Tokyo were given Sugiyama’s boiled genitals or beef or crocodile meat

Former nurse Nathaniel Arnold, 46, removed Gustavson’s body parts and will be sentenced on January 12

Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 23, froze Gustavson’s leg requiring amputation and admitted deliberately causing GBH

Sugiyama, who goes by the nickname HC, said he had initially considered eating his own penis, but decided to serve it up instead.

He cooked the genitals, which were removed in early April 2012 shortly after his 22nd birthday, himself under the supervision of a chef.

Sugiyama donned a traditional chef’s outfit before carefully seasoning and burning the genitals on a portable gas cartridge burner.

Guests had to sign a waiver so he couldn’t be held responsible if they got sick.

Sugiyama’s first message on Twitter read: ‘I’m offering my male genitals (full penis, testicles, scrotum) as a meal for 100,000 yen (£800). I am Japanese.

‘At the age of 22, the organs were surgically removed. I was tested for venereal diseases. The organs functioned normally. I did not receive treatment with female hormones.

‘The first interested buyer will get them, or I will also consider selling to a group. Prepares and cooks as the buyer requests, at the location of his choice.

‘If you have any questions, please contact me via DM or email.’

In total, about 70 people attended the event in Tokyo’s Suginami district. While five people hid in Mao Sugiyama’s genitals, the rest ate beef or crocodile.

It was reported that the five people who ate the unusual showpiece dish were a married couple, a manga artist, a 32-year-old woman and a 22-year-old event planner.