$100 Million Gold Heist at YYZ

[deicer]

https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/major-gold-heist-at-pearson-movie-plot-turns-reality-in-gta

LILLEY: Major gold heist at Pearson, movie plot turns reality in GTA

At this point, investigators don’t know who stole the gold

Peel Regional Police have enlisted the help of the RCMP following a massive gold heist at Pearson airport. Earlier this week, someone made off with 3,600 pounds of gold being moved through the airport. Pearson is often used to move gold mined in Ontario to customers around the world.

 

At current spot prices for gold, that would put value of the heist at more than $100 million.

[Guest1]

The last big gold robbery at a Canadian Airport was..........

Quote

On his most famous heist, Leishman and four accomplices stole almost $385,000 (just over $3.5 million 2023 dollars) in gold bullion being transported by TransAir to Winnipeg where it would be shipped via Air Canada to Ottawa, Ontario.

 

[Kip Powick]

Toronto Star states that  Peel Police say it was "only"  20M worth of high value goods, which included some gold.

[Specs]

Apple Airtags would have been helpful.  

[Airband]

20 minutes ago, Specs said:

Apple Airtags would have been helpful.  

Not sure Air Canada's record with them would be the best...

Police investigating major gold theft at Pearson airport from Air Canada’s cargo operations

Fri Apr 21. 2023 - The Globe and Mail

Thieves made off with a container holding more than $20-million worth of gold and other valuables from a cargo facility at Toronto Pearson International Airport this week.

The container holding the precious metal arrived by plane Monday evening and was taken shortly after, Peel Regional Police Inspector Stephen Duivesteyn told reporters on Thursday at a news conference near Canada’s busiest airport.

He declined to name or describe the container’s owner nor say when it went missing. “This high-value container was removed by illegal means,” he said.

The box is about the size of an aircraft shipping container, about five-feet wide, he said.

The RCMP could be asked to participate, if needed, but the investigation is in the hands of his best detectives, he said.

“Our goal is to solve this theft,” he said. He did not know the gold’s intended destination before it was stolen. The theft was an “isolated incident” and travellers should not fear using the airport, he said.

Air Canada’s cargo operations were handling the gold when it went missing, according to a person familiar with the situation. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the person because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Air Canada spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick declined to comment.

“As this is an active police investigation, we are unable to provide any comments regarding the matter at this time,” said Jenn Bell, a spokeswoman for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, the operator of Pearson.

The Toronto Sun reported early Thursday that the gold was stolen as it was being shipped through Pearson airport, citing unnamed sources. Police are looking at local organized crime gangs as possible suspects, the Sun reported

Insp. Duivesteyn refused to speculate whether organized crime gangs were involved. “Our investigators have their eyes open to all avenues so we really don’t want to make an error and focus on one particular area,” he said. “So we’re going to look at all angles. … For me to say it was professional [heist] at this time, I’d be hesitant to say such a thing.”

Nadine Ramadan, a spokeswoman for Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, said Transport Canada is in contact with the airport over the matter, but declined to provide details.

Gold is a tempting item for thieves because relatively small, transportable amounts can be worth a lot of money. Gold thefts have made many headlines over the years.

A series called The Gold that aired on BBC this year focuses on the famous Brink’s-Mat robbery in 1983, when tens of millions of dollars worth of gold bars, diamonds and cash was stolen by armed robbers from a facility near London’s Heathrow Airport.

In 1976, a group blasted through a wall at the British Bank of the Middle East in Beirut, Lebanon, and made off with gold bars and other valuables.

In 2020, armed robbers overtook security guards on the runway at a mine in Mexico owned by Canada’s Alamos Gold Inc. and stole the gold bars the guards were loading on a plane for transport. A small plane landed at the site and whisked away the robbers with the gold minutes later.

[Falken]

Glad to hear that Omar is on the case!

[CanadaEH]

1 hour ago, Falken said:

Glad to hear that Omar is on the case!

But only after he's done parading around a table in high heels. Priorities, after all.

 

 

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by CanadaEH

[Airband]

How did a thief pull off a $20M gold heist at Pearson? Lawsuit reveals new details

Brink’s, who was hired to co-ordinate the shipment, says it demanded full reimbursement from Air Canada in April but didn’t receive a response

Tue Oct 10, 2023 - The Toronto Star
By Ben Spurr and Mahdis Habibinia

A U.S.-based security company is suing Air Canada over a major heist at Pearson International Airport this spring, claiming the airline allowed a thief to walk out of a warehouse with more than $20 million in cash and gold by presenting a phoney waybill.

In a statement of claim filed at the Federal Court of Canada, Brink’s International alleges Air Canada was “reckless” and failed to enact proper security measures to prevent the April 17 robbery, which made international headlines and remains unsolved.

The company’s Oct. 6 claim, which offers new details about how the company believes the brazen theft unfolded, has not been tested in court. Air Canada has not yet filed a statement of defence, and a spokesperson for the airline said Tuesday it couldn’t comment on the case while it’s before the courts.

According to the claim, Valcambi SA, a Swiss precious metal refinery, and Raiffeisen Schweiz, a Swiss retail bank, contracted Delaware-based Brink’s to transport about 400 kilograms of gold and $1.95 million USD in banknotes respectively from Zurich to Toronto.

Brink’s booked the shipment on board flight AC881 using AC Secure, a special service for handling valuable cargo for which the airline charges higher fees.

The flight landed at Pearson shortly before 4 p.m., and the shipments, which police have said were in a container about five to six square feet in size, was deposited at an Air Canada bonded warehouse at the airport about two hours later.

According to the statement of claim, at around 6:32 p.m. “an unidentified individual gained access to AC’s cargo storage facilities.” That person allegedly presented Air Canada personnel with a “fraudulent waybill,” and the airline employees released the gold and banknotes to them.

Brink’s claims that “No security protocols or features were in place to monitor, restrict or otherwise regulate the unidentified individual’s access to the facilities,” and although “appropriate inquiries” would have “entirely avoided” the thief’s ability to steal the cargo, Air Canada staff made no attempt to verify the waybill’s authenticity “in any way.”

The filing alleges the airline “failed to enlist reasonable and appropriate security measures,” was negligent, and breached its contractual commitments.

Brink’s says it provided written notice of its losses to Air Canada on April 27 and demanded full reimbursement, but didn’t receive a response. It’s seeking damages covering the value of the stolen cargo — 13,612,696.75 in Swiss Francs for the gold, and $1,945,843 USD for the banknotes, which works out to about $23 million CAD — plus special damages and costs.

Peel Regional Police, which described the robbery earlier this year as an isolated incident and “very rare,” told the Star on Tuesday that the heist is still an active investigation. The force did not confirm the lawsuit’s claims that there have been no arrests and the shipments haven’t been recovered.

“Information will be released when investigators believe it will not interfere with the investigation’s integrity,” Police said.

A spokesperson for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), which manages Pearson, told the Star in April that whoever stole the shipment accessed the public side of the warehouse “outside of our primary security line,” and the incident posed no threat to passengers.

[Airband]

Gold stolen from Toronto airport was not insured, Air Canada claims in denying responsibility

Airline breaks its silence on Pearson airport gold heist mystery after $20-million load was stolen when it arrived in Toronto on a flight from Switzerland

Air Canada Cargo at Toronto Pearson International Airport, where millions in gold bars and cash was stolen

Thu Nov 16, 2023  - National Post
by Adrian Humphreys

Quote

'It describes the heist as being as easy as walking into Air Canada’s cargo facility, showing a false waybill, and leaving with the cargo.  It was gone 42 minutes after it was unloaded from a plane and transferred to a warehouse, according to Brink’s lawsuit filed in court.

Gold stolen from Toronto airport was not insured, Air Canada claims in denying responsibility in a statement, obtained by National Post, adds details on the mysterious cargo, including that the missing gold was forged into 24 gold bars.

Air Canada denies allegations by Brink’s of lax security and negligence in allowing the cargo to be collected by an unknown and unauthorized person less than an hour after arriving at its warehouse on the periphery of the airport.

The airline alleges Brink’s shipped the cargo without declaring its value, without insurance, and without paying extra for additional security.

“Brink’s Switzerland Ltd. did not request from or pay to Air Canada for any insurance with respect to the cargo carried under this air waybill nor, to Air Canada’s knowledge, did Brink’s Switzerland Ltd. obtain any such insurance at all,” the statement of defence says.

“Brink’s Switzerland Ltd. was at all times a sophisticated party to the subject (of) contracts of carriage by air,” it says.

“Brink’s Switzerland Ltd. elected for its own reasons not to declare a value for carriage and to pay the standard rate for the AC Secure services product and, to Air Canada’s knowledge, elected not to insure these shipments.

“Brink’s Switzerland Ltd. did so of its own volition and while fully aware the consequences.”

Despite disagreement on fault and compensation, both companies largely agree on the circumstances of the cargo’s travel and that it is now long gone.

In April, Peel Regional Police announced the shock theft of gold from Pearson airport after the shipment arrived on an Air Canada flight from Zurich, Switzerland.

It was soon evocatively branded as a gold heist and, with few details revealed, public imagination ran wild.

The gold has not been found and no arrests have been made.

In Air Canada’s statement of defence, the airline says that Brink’s Switzerland Ltd. booked space with Air Canada for air transport of two shipments from Zurich to Toronto Canada on April 14.

One was for gold bars and the other for bulk cash.

Transport was booked by Brink’s for AC Secure service.

Air Canada said AC Secure “provides for special handling of high-value cargo and includes extra security, higher load priority and shorter time for tender and retrieval of cargo.”

The airline issued two air waybill numbers to Brink’s for the cargo, the airline says.

Air Canada says that Brink’s then sent back a final master waybill notation for each shipment, adding the letters “ZRH,” which is the airport code for Zurich Airport.

The consignee for the gold was identified on the waybill as The Toronto Dominion Bank.

The cargo was described as 24 gold bars weighing 400.19 kilograms but Brink’s did not declare a value, or an insurance value, on either the waybill or the custom’s declaration, Air Canada claims.

The consignee for the bank notes was identified on the waybill as Vancouver Bullion and Currency Exchange.

That cargo was described as three pieces with a gross weight of 53.18 kilograms. There was no declared value for the currency either, the defence statement says.

In its claim, Brink’s said the bank notes totalled US$1,945,843 and were shipped by a Swiss bank called Raiffeisen Schweiz, and the gold was shipped by Valcambi SA, a precious metals refining company in Switzerland, valued at more than $20.4 million.

The cargo covered by both waybills was carried, apparently sharing one cargo container, from Zurich to Toronto on Air Canada Flight AC881, departing and arriving on April 17.

The Brink’s lawsuit claims the shipment was easily stolen because of lax security by Air Canada at its cargo handling facility.

It describes the heist as being as easy as walking into Air Canada’s cargo facility, showing a false waybill, and leaving with the cargo, according to Brink’s lawsuit filed in court.

It was gone 42 minutes after it was unloaded from a plane and transferred to a warehouse, according to information in the claim.

The timing of the theft is not addressed in Air Canada’s defence. Nor does it deny Brink’s outline of how it was stolen.

Although the airline explicitly denies security lapses at the Air Canada cargo facility from where the gold was boosted, it does not directly address details in Brink’s complaints of the cargo’s handling once it landed.

[Specs]

13 hours ago, Airband said:

That cargo (the bank notes) was described as three pieces with a gross weight of 53.18 kilograms. There was no declared value for the currency either, the defence statement says.

I'm guessing a a mix of $20s and $10s?  $2 000 000 in $50s as you all probably know would only weigh 8 kg.

Edited November 17, 2023 by Specs

[boestar]

If someone had a false waybill with all the appropriate information on it, then it was likely an inside job. You dont just print up a waybill 

[Malcolm]

12 hours ago, boestar said:

If someone had a false waybill with all the appropriate information on it, then it was likely an inside job. You dont just print up a waybill 

'and of course there would have been a release stamp from 

customs..... 

[Seeker]

On 11/20/2023 at 9:59 PM, boestar said:

If someone had a false waybill with all the appropriate information on it, then it was likely an inside job. You dont just print up a waybill 

That's exactly what I was thinking.  I expect the investigators are playing the long-game watching possible suspects for unusual activity while telling the public they have no clue where it went.

[deicer]

Seems to be some 'developments' in this case...

https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/police-probing-whether-montreals-gold-seizure-is-tied-to-torontos-massive-gold-heist

Police probing whether Montreal's gold seizure is tied to Toronto's massive gold heist

"In order not to interfere with the ongoing investigation, we cannot provide further information," a Montreal police spokesperson said.

Montreal and Toronto-area police are investigating whether the surprise seizure of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gold during a firearms raid in the east-end of the city Tuesday is connected to in April’s daring $20-million gold heist at Toronto’s Pearson airport, the Montreal Gazette has learned.

“The investigative team assigned to this case is aware of the seizures in Montreal and is working with the lead investigators from the SPVM and respective policing partners in Quebec to determine if there is any connection with our investigation,” Tyler Bell-Morena, a spokesperson for the Peel Regional Police, said in an email Friday afternoon.

 

“There is no further update to provide as of yet.”

 

In contrast, Montreal police were tight-lipped about their collaboration with their Ontario counterparts.

 

“In order not to interfere with the ongoing investigation, we cannot provide further information,” Mélanie Bergeron, a spokesperson of the Service de police de la ville de Montréal (SPVM), told the Gazette, declining to confirm or rule out a possible link.

 

On Tuesday, Montreal police stumbled upon a huge cache of gold while carrying out what was intended to be a raid to seize illegal firearms. Police arrested seven people and grabbed nine firearms, a kilogram of cocaine, and a kilo and a half of methamphetamine. They also confiscated $500,000 in cash and “a large quantity of gold.”

 

“The exact value of the precious metal seized has yet to be determined, but is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars,” the SPVM declared in a statement.

 

In the annals of Montreal crime, the seizure of such a quantity of gold is extremely rare, if not unprecedented. A review of nearly 40 years’ worth of published crime stories in the Gazette found only one comparable story: In 1994, provincial police carried out a series of raids on the West End Gang, seizing 26.5 tonnes of hashish at the Port of Montreal, along with $800,000 in cash and two two-kilogram bars of gold.

[Airband]

Arrests made in $24M gold and cash heist at Pearson, Peel Regional Police announce

Police will provide details about the arrests on the one-year anniversary of the case that saw 400 kilograms of gold and $1.95 million US in cash stolen from a warehouse at Pearson airport

Tue Apr 16, 2024 - The Toronto Star
By Andy-Takagi - Staff Reporter

On the one-year anniversary of the robbery of $24 million in gold and cash from an Air Canada warehouse at Pearson International Airport, Peel Regional Police and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms will announce the details of arrests made from their joint task force, Project 24K.

Officers from the joint task force will hold a press conference at 8:30 a.m. in Brampton to “announce details and arrests made concerning the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport,” according to a press release.

One year ago, on the evening of April 17, a man presented a phoney waybill to Air Canada staff at a warehouse off to the side of Pearson International Airport. That person, according to court documents filed by Brink’s, then walked out with 400 kilograms of gold and $1.95 million USD cash.

Since then, police have made scant statements, the whereabouts of the money and gold have remained a mystery and a multimillion lawsuit over responsibility for a lapse in security is before the courts. 

It’s not the first gold theft at Pearson nor the strangest robbery in Canada.

How did it all happen and what happens now? Here’s what you need to know on the one-year anniversary of the infamous Pearson airport gold heist 

What happened in the Pearson airport heist?

It took Peel Regional Police three days before holding a press conference to announce its investigation into the $24 million worth of gold and cash that was quietly carted away from Toronto’s Pearson Airport.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority, which runs Pearson airport, was quick to distance themselves from the incident. A spokesperson told the Star that the thieves had accessed the public side of a warehouse leased out to a third party, later revealed to be Air Canada, and that the heist did not involve Pearson airport besides the theft’s geographic proximity to the robbery.

“Our investigators have got their eyes open to all avenues,” Insp. Stephen Duivesteyn of Peel police told reporters at the time. “We really don’t want to make an error and sort of focus on one particular area. We’re kind of keeping a broad outlook on it.”

Experts later told the Star that the heist was likely a methodically planned out professional job that may have had inside help, and that if police did not recover the stolen gold and cash quickly, it could be gone forever.

Brink’s sues Air Canada for the gold heist

Most of the details of the heist come from the Brink’s lawsuit against Air Canada, which it filed in October 2023, alleging the airline was “reckless” and failed to properly secure the company’s precious cargo.

The company’s Oct. 6 claim has not been tested in court. 

According to the claim, Valcambi SA, a Swiss precious metal refinery, and Raiffeisen Schweiz, a Swiss retail bank, contracted Delaware-based Brink’s to transport the gold and cash from Zurich to Toronto.

Brink’s booked the shipment on board flight AC881 using AC Secure, a special service for handling valuable cargo for which the airline charges higher fees.

The flight landed at Pearson shortly before 4 p.m., and the shipments, which police have said were in a container about five to six square feet in size, was deposited at an Air Canada bonded warehouse at the airport about two hours later.

According to the statement of claim, at around 6:32 p.m., “an unidentified individual gained access to AC’s cargo storage facilities.” That person allegedly presented Air Canada personnel with a “fraudulent waybill,” and the airline employees released the gold and banknotes to them.

In a statement of defence, Air Canada fired back, denying the allegations made by Brink’s and claiming that the company had not taken out insurance on the valuable cargo.

“Brink’s Switzerland Ltd. elected for its own reasons not to declare a value for carriage and to pay the standard rate for the AC Secure services product and, to Air Canada’s knowledge, elected not to insure these shipments,” the airline said in its statement of defence. “Brink’s Switzerland Ltd. did so of its own volition and while fully aware the consequences.”

[Malcolm]

Skip to main content

 

 

 

BREAKING NEWS: 9 suspects arrested in Toronto airport gold heist

TORONTO

 

Nine suspects arrested in $24M gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport: Peel police

Published April 17, 2024 4:01 a.m. MDT

Pearson airport gold heist: Police announce 9 arrests | CTV News

Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport(opens in a new tab) last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.

The arrests were announced at a news conference on the one-year anniversary of the heist.

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Police said the suspects face a combined 19 charges and Canada-wide warrants have been issued for the arrest of three other suspects.

RELATED STORIES

• Suspect used fraudulent document to steal $20M in gold during heist at Toronto airport: lawsuit
• What we know and don't know about the $20M heist at Toronto Pearson
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During a news conference on Wednesday morning, police said 6,600 gold bars were stolen from Air Canada’s cargo facility on the evening of April 17, 2023 by a suspect who arrived to the warehouse in a five-tonne truck.

The gold had been shipped to Toronto from Zurich in the hull of an Air Canada plane and was offloaded to an Air Canada cargo facility shortly after landing at Pearson Airport that afternoon.

Six pure gold bracelets worth an estimated $89,000 were recovered as part of an investigation into a gold heist at Toronto Pearson airport and are displayed in this image from Peel police. (Handout)

Police allege that the suspect came into possession of the stolen gold after presenting Air Canada personnel with a fraudulent air waybill.

“The air waybill was for a legitimate shipment of seafood that was picked up the day before,” Det.-Sgt. Mike Mavity, the major case manager for the joint investigation, dubbed Project 24K, told reporters on Wednesday.

“This duplicate air waybill was printed off from a printer within Air Canada cargo.”

Mavity said a forklift arrived a short time later and loaded the stolen gold and foreign currency into the back of the truck.

 

[Airband]

Out on bail

Resigned from AC summer of '23 - whereabouts unknown

[Falken]

There seems to be a common thread running thru these gentlemen (persons) (or persons with a ?) to be PC. 

[st27]

Not being widely reported in Canadian media but ……. Internationally they must be laughing at us….who says crime doesn’t pay? Do you really think these guys will honour their “promise to appear”?

Quote

The five people arrested and charged in Canada were released on bail, police said, while the individual arrested in the United States remains in custody. Warrants have been issued for three others in Canada, police added.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/18/gold-heist-toronto-airport-canada-arrests/

Quote

Five of the suspects were arrested in Canada and released on bail pending trial, police said. One additional suspect, originally from Brampton, Ontario, was arrested in the state of Pennsylvania after being discovered with dozens of illegal firearms. That person remains in custody in the United States.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/17/police-make-multiple-arrests-in-largest-gold-theft-in-canadian-history#:~:text=Five of the suspects were,custody in the United States.

[Malcolm]

'They needed people inside Air Canada': Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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‘The largest gold heist in Canadian history’

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Arrests in Toronto Pearson gold heist

 

Codi Wilson

CP24.com Journalist

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Updated April 17, 2024 1:12 p.m. MDT

Published April 17, 2024 4:01 a.m. MDT

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Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.

At a news conference Wednesday on the one-year anniversary of the heist, police confirmed that five suspects were arrested and four others are facing charges in connection with the largest gold theft in Canadian history.

Police said the suspects face a total of 19 charges and Canada-wide warrants have been issued for the arrest of three of the suspects who have not yet been apprehended. All of the suspects arrested in connection with the heist have been released on bail, police confirmed in a news release issued Wednesday.

• Video shows how heist suspects made off with gold, cash

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Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said the heist was “carefully planned” by a “well-organized group of criminals.”

“This story is a sensational one and one which probably, we jokingly say, belongs in a Netflix series,” he said.

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Police said 6,600 gold bars were stolen from Air Canada’s cargo facility on the evening of April 17, 2023 by a suspect who arrived at the warehouse in a five-tonne delivery truck.

Four suspects who are wanted in connection with a gold heist at Pearson airport are shown. They are from left to right: Simran Preet Panesar, Archit Grover, Durante King-Mclean and Arsalan Chaudhary. (Peel Regional Police)The gold, along with about $2.5 million in foreign currency, had been shipped to Toronto from Zurich in the hull of an Air Canada plane and was offloaded to an Air Canada cargo facility shortly after the flight landed at Pearson Airport that afternoon.

Police allege that the suspect came into possession of the stolen gold and bank notes after presenting Air Canada personnel with a fraudulent airway bill.

“The airway bill was for a legitimate shipment of seafood that was picked up the day before,” Det.-Sgt. Mike Mavity, the major case manager for the joint investigation, dubbed Project 24K, told reporters on Wednesday.

“This duplicate airway bill was printed off from a printer within Air Canada cargo.”

A suspect and suspect vehicle are pictured during a news conference about a gold heist at Perason Airport. (Handout /Peel Police)Mavity said a forklift arrived a short time later and loaded the stolen gold and currency into the back of the truck. The suspect then drove off with the gold bars, which were estimated to be worth about $20 million.

Brinks Canada, which was hired to provide security and logistics services for the transportation of the shipment, showed up at the facility a few hours later to pick up the items, police said.

According to investigators, when Air Canada employees tried to locate the container, they realized it was missing and quickly launched an internal investigation. Police were notified about the stolen goods shortly before 3 a.m. the following day, Mavity said.

Air Canada launches probe

An exhaustive investigation followed, police said, with officers reviewing video surveillance footage from 225 businesses and residences in an effort to track the path of the truck, which has since been recovered.

Mavity said that last summer, they identified 25-year-old Durante King-McLean as the driver of the truck but were unable to locate him.

In September 2023, Mavity said King-McLean was stopped in rental vehicle by Pennsylvania State Police near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

"After a brief foot chase, he was detained and troopers located 65 illegal firearms in the vehicle,” Mavity said Wednesday.

According to Mavity, investigators believe that the stolen gold was melted down and sold and the proceeds were used to purchase illegal guns for a firearms trafficking operation.

He said members of Project 24K have been liaising with the U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Bureau (ATF) with respect to this aspect of the investigation.

Speaking at the news conference on Wednesday, a representative from the ATF said the law enforcement agency believes the 65 guns seized during the arrest of King-McLean were bound for Canada.

While King-McLean is currently in custody in the United States, he is now wanted on multiple charges in connection with the gold theft.

“We are alleging that some individuals who participated in this gold theft are also involved in aspects of this firearms trafficking,” Mavity added.

Gold taken during a heist at Pearson airport is shown being loaded into the back of the suspect's truck in this image taken from surveillance footage released by police. (Peel Regional Police)Officers in Peel Region executed 37 search warrants in connection with Project 24K and police said only small quantity of the gold was recovered. Six gold bracelets, worth about $89,000, were seized, jewelry that police believe was made out of some of the gold that was stolen. Police said $434,000 in Canadian currency was also seized during the investigation. Officers believe that money was obtained through the sale of some of the stolen gold.

Two “debt lists” were found by investigators at separate locations during the investigation, police said.

“A common term in drug trafficking investigations, we believe these lists actually show where the money was distributed when the gold was sold by the suspects,” Mavity said.

He said the names on both lists are “consistent” and police are trying to identify all of those identified.

Six pure gold bracelets worth an estimated $89,000 were recovered as part of an investigation into a gold heist at Toronto Pearson airport and are displayed in this image from Peel police. (Handout)

'They needed people inside Air Canada'

Police said one current Air Canada employee, identified as 54-year-old Brampton resident Parmpal Sidhu, has been charged with theft over $5,000 and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence. A Canada-wide warrant has been issued 31-year-old Simran Preet Panesar, who police said resigned from his position as a manager at Air Canada back in the summer.

“He has been known to us since early on in the investigation. He actually led a tour for Peel Regional Police before we knew his involvement,” Mavity said Wednesday.

He added that police have an idea where Panesar may be but did not elaborate on a possible location.

Mavity said he believes the suspects needed employees on the inside to carry out the heist.

“Because of their position within Air Canada, in my opinion, yeah they needed people inside Air Canada to facilitate this theft,” he said.

In a statement, an Air Canada spokesperson confirmed that the two people who police identified did work for the airline in the cargo division at the time of the incident.

“One left the company prior to the arrests announced today and the second has been suspended,” the spokesperson said.

“We thank the police for their diligent efforts in investigating this matter. As this is now before the courts, we are limited in our ability to comment further.”

A map showing the alleged movements of vehicles during a gold heist at Toronto Pearson Airport is displayed during a news conference Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

RELATED IMAGES

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Five suspects that were arrested in connection with a gold heist at Pearson airport are shown. From left to right: Parmpal Sidhu, 54, Amit Jalota, 40, Ammad Chaudhary, 43, Prasath Paramalingam, 35, Ali Raza, 37. (Peel Regional Police)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Correction

 

Police initially said nine suspects had been arrested in the case but later clarified that three of the nine suspects are wanted on Canada-wide warrants while a fourth is in custody in the United States