Six people have been arrested over what officials say was the “largest” gold heist in Canada’s history.
The theft of 6,600 gold bars weighing more than 400 kilograms took place at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport a year ago. The loot had a value of $20m CAD.
“This story is a sensational one, and one which probably, we jokingly say, belongs in a Netflix series”, Chief of the Peel Regional Police Nishan Duraiappah said during a Wednesday news conference.
An investigative project team called “24 karat” determined that a group of organised crime members were able to easily pull off the robbery using their positions as employees of Air Canada.
The gold, along with foreign currency notes valued at $2.5m CAD, were ordered from a refinery in Zurich, Switzerland. The stolen goods were then transferred in the hull of an Air Canada flight bound for Toronto. Two of the people involved in the heist were employed by the airline, with one of them working in a managerial role.
When the gold arrived in the country, it was offloaded from the plane and brought to an Air Canada cargo facility. One of the suspects later entered the facility with a five-tonne truck, using a fraudulent air waybill from the day before for a seafood shipment.
The duplicate bill was printed off an Air Canada printer, Detective Sergeant Mike Mavity said at the news conference, standing in front of the truck used in the crime. Later, a forklift loaded the gold and foreign currency into the suspect’s vehicle. The man drove away.
Investigators have so far been able to recover $90,000 CAD out of the $20m CAD in gold.
Detective Sergeant Mavity said his team believes that the gold was melted down and sold off to purchase firearms. Additionally, investigators have recovered $430,000 CAD, thought to be some of the proceeds from the sales, six gold bangles valued at $89,000 CAD, smelting posts cast and moulds.
Lists recovered during the investigation show where the money was distributed when the gold was sold, the detective said.
Five people have been arrested in connection with the crime: Parmpal Sidhu, 54, an Air Canada employee at the time of the crime; Amit Jalota, 40; Ammad Chaudhary, 43; Ali Raza, 37 and Prasath Paramalingam, 35.
The men have been hit with various charges, including theft over $5,000 CAD, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and possession of property obtained by crime, among others. The suspects have been released on conditions and will appear before in court at a later date in accordance with Canadian law.
Search warrants have been issued for the following individuals: Simran Preet Panesar, 31, a former Air Canada employee; Archit Grover, 36 and Arsalan Chaudhary, 42.
Durante King-Mclean, 25, the driver of the truck is currently in US custody on firearms-trafficking-related charges. Canadian charges have also been issued for the suspect.
In a statement, a representative for Air Canada 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”.
Mr King-Mclean was stopped by Pennsylvania State Police in September for minor traffic violations. He attempted to flee the area on foot but was caught. Authorities discovered 65 illegal firearms in his truck that they said were heading to Canada.
“What we’ve come to learn from the service over and over is it always comes down to guns and organised crime”, said Nando Iannicca, chairman of the Peel Police Services Board. “This isn’t just about gold. This is about how gold becomes guns”.
Following the incident, Brinks, a Miami-based transport and security services provider, sued Air Canada for negligence. The company had been hired by a Swiss bank to move the stolen goods from Zurich to Toronto.
