TORONTO — Police say nine people have been charged in what authorities are calling the largest gold theft in Canadian history from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport a year ago.
Peel Regional Police announced Wednesday. More than 6,600 gold bars worth more than C$20 million ($14.5 million), or C$2.5 million ($1.8 million) in foreign currencies, were stolen. Police said the money was melted down and used to purchase illegal firearms.
Those charged include an Air Canada warehouse employee and a former Air Canada manager who directed police to the cargo at the facility after the theft. The owner of the jewelry store also faces charges.
“This story is sensational and, perhaps jokingly, belongs in a series on Netflix,” Peel Regional Director Nishan Duraiappar said.
Peel Regional Detective Sergeant Mike Maviti said the gold bars and foreign currency, weighing 419 kilograms (923 pounds), were ordered from a refinery in Zurich, Switzerland, and flown on an Air Canada flight on April 17 last year. It is said that it was transported.
He said the truck driver arrived at the airline’s cargo warehouse late in the afternoon with a fraudulent invoice that he had given to the airline’s warehouse staff.
Mabiti said the seafood bill picked up the previous day was used to pick up the gold. He said the duplicate invoices were printed at an Air Canada warehouse.
“We needed people within Air Canada to assist with this theft,” Maviti said in front of the truck police said was used in the theft.
Maviti said police are searching for the Air Canada manager who gave police a tour of the facility days after the theft. He said his manager left his job last summer, but they were aware of his whereabouts.
Mr Mabiti said some of the suspects were known to police and some were not. He said they seized six crudely made gold bracelets.
“I don’t think we ever imagined we would have to deal with the largest gold heist in Canadian history,” said Patrick Brown, the mayor of Brampton, Ont. “It’s like the movie ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ or CSI.”
Air Canada employee Pampal Sidhu, 54, of Brampton, Ont., jewelry store owner Ali Raza, 37, of Toronto, Amit Jalota, 40, of Oakville, Ont., and Amad. Those arrested include Chaudhary, 43, of Georgetown, Ont., and Prasas Paramalingam, 35, of Brampton. Mr Mabiti said they had been released on bail conditions and would appear in court at a later date.
The truck driver who allegedly picked up the gold, Durante King-McLean, 25, of Brampton, is currently in U.S. custody on firearms and human trafficking-related charges, Maviti said.
Police are searching for Simran Preet Panesar, 31, a former Air Canada manager from Brampton, as well as Archit Grover, 36, of Brampton, and Arsalan Chaudhary, 42, of Mississauga, Ont. ing.
Peel Region Deputy Commissioner Nick Milinovich said only C$90,000 ($60,500) of the more than C$20 million had been recovered.
ATF Special Agent Eric Degree said King-McLean was arrested in Pennsylvania after a traffic stop that led to the seizure of 65 illegal firearms that were to be smuggled into Canada. DeGree said he tried to flee after police found a firearm in his rental car.
American cash handling company Brinks arrived at the airport’s cargo facility on the night of April 17 to pick up the gold, but after a search it was told that the gold and currency were missing.
Brinks sued Air Canada last year over theft. Thieves made off with valuable cargo at an Air Canada warehouse on April 17 after presenting false documents, according to the company’s filing last year.
In a Nov. 8 statement of defense, Air Canada rejected “all allegations” in Blink’s lawsuit, saying it had honored its contract of carriage and denied any improper or “negligent” conduct.
The country’s largest airline also said Brinks had failed to include the value of the shipment on its waybill (a document typically issued by a carrier detailing a package), and if Brinks suffered a loss, it would He said the cap would be set by a multilateral agreement known as the Montreal Convention. Air Canada Responsibilities.
In a federal court filing alleging breach of contract and millions of dollars in damages, Brinks alleges that an “unidentified person” crashed the Air Canada flight from Zurich shortly after it landed at Pearson. He said he accessed the company’s cargo warehouse and presented a “fraudulent” waybill.
The employee then handed over 400 kilograms of gold in the form of 24 bars and nearly $2 million in cash to the suspect, who quickly “fled with the package,” according to the complaint.
Dozens of firearms were seized, including two fully automatic rifles and five untraceable guns, DeGree said.
“We are proud of our success in eliminating international gun trafficking operations. We took 65 firearms off Canadian streets and prevented them from being used in any crime,” said DeGree. said.
“We believe they melted down the gold and used the proceeds from the gold to purchase illegal firearms,” Mabiti said.
