Unprecedented Theft at Toronto’s Pearson Airport
In what has become the largest gold heist in Canadian history, over CA$30 million worth of gold bars, stolen from an Air Canada cargo terminal, may have ended up in India, according to law enforcement officials.
Details of the heist
The gold, consisting of 6,600 bars, was stolen from Toronto’s Pearson Airport on April 17 last year. The Peel Police Service Board discussed the ongoing investigation during a June 21 meeting, revealing that the gold may never be recovered. Detective Sergeant Mike Mavity of the Peel Regional Police (PRP) stated, “We believe a large portion has gone overseas to markets that are flush with gold. That would be Dubai, or India, where you can take gold with serial numbers on it and they will still honor it and melt it down…and we believe that happened very shortly after the incident,” according to CBC News.
The investigation
PRP had earlier described this theft as the largest gold heist in Canada ever. On April 17, 2023, at 3:56 pm, a flight from Zurich, Switzerland, landed at Pearson International Airport with a cargo containing 6,600 bars of .9999% pure gold, weighing 400 kilograms, and CA$ 2.5 million worth in foreign currency. The cargo was reported missing to the police on April 18, 2023, at 2:43 am.
Suspects and arrests
Two Indo-Canadians working at the warehouse from which the gold was taken were allegedly involved in the heist. They are 54-year-old Parmpal Sidhu from Brampton, who was arrested in May this year, and 31-year-old Simran Preet Panesar, also from Brampton. Panesar, who worked as a manager at the warehouse, gave the police a tour of the facility after the robbery before resigning and is now believed to be abroad. A friend of Sidhu, 36-year-old Archit Grover, who was also wanted in the case, was taken into custody in May after returning to Canada from India.
On April 17 this year, PRP, in collaboration with the Philadelphia Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), identified and charged or issued warrants for nine individuals with over 19 charges. Among those charged were Sidhu, 40-year-old Amit Jalota from Oakville, 43-year-old Ammad Chaudhary from Georgetown, 37-year-old Ali Raza from Toronto, and 35-year-old Prasath Paramalingam from Brampton. Canada-wide arrest warrants were issued for Panesar, Grover, and 42-year-old Arsalan Chaudhary from Mississauga. Another accused, 25-year-old Durante King-Mclean from Brampton, is in custody in the United States.
This ongoing investigation underscores the complex international dimensions of the heist and the challenges law enforcement faces in recovering the stolen gold.