Six people have been arrested after a yearlong investigation into what is being touted as Canada's biggest gold heist. Three more people are facing charges in the case.
According to Peel Regional Police, an estimated 6,600 gold bars weighing 419 kg worth over 20 million Canadian dollars and foreign currency worth 2.5 million Canadian dollars were stolen from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport's Air Canada facility on April 17, 2023. The gold bars were ordered from a refinery in Zurich, Switzerland.
A truck driver came to the cargo facility with an airway bill for seafood that was picked up the previous day.
Air Canada employee Parmpal Sidhu, 54, from Brampton; jewellery store owner Ali Raza, 37, from Toronto; Amit Jalota, 40, a Oakville; Ammad Chaudhary, 43, from Georgetown; and Prasath Paramalingam, 35, from Brampton are among the arrested. The accused were released on bail and will be produced in court on a later date.
The trucker, Durante King-Mclean, 25, from Brampton, is in US custody on firearms and trafficking charges.
Police are looking for former Air Canada manager Simran Preet Panesar, 31, from Brampton, who reportedly gave police a tour of the cargo facility after the heist. Others under radar include Archit Grover, 36, from Brampton and Arsalan Chaudhary, 42, from Mississauga.
“This story is a sensational one and which probably, we jokingly say, belongs in a Netflix series,” Peel Regional Chief Nishan Duraiappah told reporters on Wednesday.
Police have recovered 312,000 Canadian dollars worth of cash out of the more than 20 million Canadian dollars. They have also seized smelting pots, casts and moulds used to change the composition of gold bars. Police suspect that the rest of the gold was melted down and the profits from the gold was used to purchase illegal firearms.