Nine people are facing charges related to the biggest gold theft in Canadian history that took place at Toronto’s Pearson International airport. The stolen gold bars, worth over 20 million Canadian dollars, were melted down and used to buy illegal firearms. Those charged include an Air Canada warehouse employee, a former Air Canada manager, and a jewelry store owner. Police are searching for a former Air Canada manager who facilitated the theft but has since left his job.
The gold bars, weighing 419 kilograms, and foreign currency were transported in the haul of an Air Canada flight on April 17 last year. A truck driver arrived at the airline’s cargo warehouse with a fraudulent bill, using a duplicate bill for seafood to pick up the gold. Police believe that individuals working within Air Canada helped facilitate the theft and have since recovered six crudely made gold bracelets. The suspects arrested in connection with the theft include an Air Canada employee, a jewelry store owner, and several other individuals from Ontario.
One of the suspects, the truck driver who allegedly picked up the gold, is currently in custody in the U.S. on firearms and trafficking charges. Police are searching for additional suspects, including the former Air Canada manager who gave a tour of the facility after the theft. Only a small fraction of the stolen gold has been recovered so far. The arrest of the truck driver led to the seizure of 65 illegal firearms that were allegedly destined to be smuggled into Canada. Brinks, a cash handling company, arrived at the airport to pick up the gold but found it missing after a search.
Brinks sued Air Canada over the theft, claiming that a thief presented a fake document at an Air Canada warehouse and absconded with 400 kilograms of gold and nearly $2 million in cash. Air Canada has denied any wrongdoing, stating that they fulfilled their carriage contracts and did not act improperly. The airline also argued that Brinks failed to accurately note the value of the cargo on the waybill. As the investigation continues, authorities have seized dozens of firearms, including automatic weapons and untraceable guns, thwarting an international gun trafficking operation.
Peel Regional Chief described the gold heist as a sensational story that could belong in a Netflix series. The suspects are facing charges related to the theft of gold bars which were melted down to purchase illegal firearms. The theft involved individuals working within Air Canada who helped facilitate the heist. The truck driver who picked up the gold is currently in custody in the U.S. on firearms charges. Despite the recovery of some of the firearms, only a fraction of the stolen gold has been found. Brinks, the company that was to pick up the gold, sued Air Canada over the theft but the airline denied any wrongdoing in the incident.
