Exactly a year after 6,600 bars of 99.99-percent pure gold were reported missing at Toronto Pearson International Airport, Peel Regional Police has announced multiple arrests in connection with the brazen heist seemingly ripped straight from the silver screen. Law enforcement claims two Air Canada employees were involved in the $15 million gold theft. Despite the charges levied, only $65,000 in gold has been recovered.
In April 2023, a flight from Zurich, Switzerland, landed at Pearson Airport carrying 880 pounds of gold and $1.8 million in foreign currency. The valuable cargo was removed from the plane and transferred to a different part of the airport. Ten hours later, the airline reported the cargo missing to the police.
Obviously, it would take heavy machinery and large vehicles to move that much gold. The police claim that the suspects used a forklift to load the cargo into a white unmarked box truck and simply drove the truck out of the Air Canada Cargo terminal. According to the CBC, the truck’s driver presented a legitimate airway bill to gain access to the warehouse. It would make sense to assume that airline employees could have been involved in pulling off this kind of heist.
Peel Regional Police arrested a 54-year-old Air Canada employee and charged him with a conspiracy to commit an indictable offense and theft over $5,000. Authorities also issued a warrant for a former Air Canada employee who worked at the carrier during the heist but has since left the company. Airline spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick told the CBC, “One left the company prior to the arrests announced today and the second has been suspended. As this is now before the courts, we are limited in our ability to comment further.” Brink’s Canada has sued Air Canada for the money stolen during the heist.
The police have only recovered just over two pounds of gold, smelting equipment, and $434,000 in Canadian currency. It’s believed that the rest of the gold has been melted down and reconstituted.
