Thousands of gold bars and a “sensational” burglary worthy of a Hollywood film. A year later, Canadian police announced Wednesday six arrests in “the largest gold theft” in the country's history, linked to firearms smuggling.
On April 17, 2023, a shipment of pure gold bars, with an estimated value of more than 20 million Canadian dollars (13.6 million euros), as well as foreign currency bank notes totaling 2.5 million Canadian dollars, had been mysteriously stolen from Toronto International Airport.
A Meticulously Planned Heist
This treasure, which has still not been found, was transported by plane from Switzerland and then placed in an Air Canada hangar. “This burglary was meticulously planned and executed by a group of criminals both inside and outside the airport facilities,” said Nishan Duraiappah, Peel Police Chief, during a press conference. According to the police, the money would have been used for arms trafficking.
Six people, all from the Toronto area, were arrested by police, who also issued arrest warrants to locate three other suspects still at large. All are aged 25 to 54. For the moment only 90,000 dollars of the 20 million stolen have since been recovered in the form of bracelets by the police, who also seized 430,000 Canadian dollars, an amount probably resulting from the sale of the gold, according to them.
Two Air Canada employees arrested
The 6,600 gold bars, weighing a total of 400 kilograms, were stolen a few hours after their arrival in Toronto by a suspect who arrived at the freight warehouse driving a five-ton truck. “The suspect backed into the loading dock, got out of his truck and then presented a false air waybill,” police said. “Shortly after, a forklift containing the gold bars and cash was placed in the suspect’s truck, who then left the scene.”
Among those arrested were two Air Canada employees at the time of the theft, the owner of a jewelry store as well as the driver of the truck, intercepted during a road check in Pennsylvania, a neighboring American state.
The driver was also charged in the United States with possession of 65 illegal firearms that were allegedly intended for resale in Canada, an official with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said.