Canadian and US authorities have arrested six suspects and charged three others in connection with a 2023 heist involving about CA$22M (US$16M) worth of gold bars and CA$2.5M worth of bank notes.

reuters.com

Canadian and US authorities have arrested six suspects, including two Air Canada employees, and charged three others in connection with the 2023 heist of CA$22M (US$16M) worth of gold bars and CA$2.5M worth of bank notes.

The suspects are accused of stealing a container of 6.6K gold bars from a warehouse at Toronto Pearson Airport after it arrived on an Air Canada flight in April 2023. It also contained bank notes headed to a Toronto bank for exchange.

The New York Times

The two airline employees are Simran Preet Panesar and Parmpal Sidhu, the former having given police a tour of the facility prior to becoming a suspect. Panesar, as well as suspects Archit Grover, Arsalan Chaudhary, and Durante King-Mclean, are in US custody.

New York Post

The man suspected of driving the truck of stolen valuables was caught in Pennsylvania after being stopped for a traffic violation, during which a State Trooper found guns in his car and he fled on foot.

McLean-King allegedly used a fake Air Canada waybill to gain access to the holding facility, pretending to pick up a seafood shipment. He then loaded the truck with the valuables and left, after which a Brinks truck showed up with the real waybill.

The suspected truck driver was caught in Pennsylvania after being stopped for a traffic violation, during which a State Trooper found guns in his car and he fled on foot. Police believe the valuables were stolen to fund illegal arms trafficking into Canada.

The authorities claim to have uncovered CA$430K in profits from selling the gold as well as six makeshift gold bracelets worth an estimated CA$89K. The whereabouts of the rest of the gold is yet unknown.

Nine Charged in Canadian Gold Heist

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Nine Charged in Canadian Gold Heist

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