At the center of the robbery plan were individuals employed by Air Canada.
New Delhi:
Canada on Thursday uncovered one of the most audacious heists in its history, unraveling a web of criminal activity that intertwined gold, money and firearms. The plot, reminiscent of a script straight out of a crime thriller, unfolded at Toronto Pearson International Airport, leaving investigators grappling with a multimillion-dollar puzzle.
The heist, which took place on April 17, 2023, saw an inexplicable disappearance of an impressive cache of riches: more than 22 million Canadian dollars in gold bars and foreign currency stolen from a secure deposit within the airport premises. The modus operandi to carry out the robbery involved forged documentation to gain access to the precious cargo.
The robbery
On April 17 last year, a cargo container arrived at Pearson International Airport from Zurich, Switzerland, aboard an Air Canada flight. Inside were 6,600 bars of pure 0.9999% gold, weighing 400 kilograms, along with 2.5 million Canadian dollars in foreign currency. The precious cargo was destined for safe storage on the airport premises before reaching its final destination. However, they never did.
Surveillance footage captured the moment the truck, driven by one of the defendants, stopped at the warehouse and loaded the container full of gold bars and banknotes. A few hours after its arrival, the valuable cargo disappeared into the night, triggering a chain of events that would reverberate across borders.
At the center of the robbery plan were individuals employed by Air Canada, the country’s flag carrier, who allegedly played key roles in facilitating the robbery. Among those arrested were former and current employees, including Parmpal Sidhu and Simran Preet Panesar, whose roles at the airline gave them insider knowledge crucial to carrying out the robbery.
The hunt
Police were alerted to the missing cargo the following morning, triggering an investigation that spanned international jurisdictions. After months of tireless investigation, law enforcement agencies have made significant progress. Arrests were made, warrants were issued, and a web of connections began to unravel.
The investigation revealed a labyrinthine network of individuals, including those of Indian origin, involved in the crime.
The saga did not end with the robbery itself. In a dramatic turn of events, police on both sides of the US-Canada border joined forces, uncovering the link between the stolen gold and an illegal firearms trafficking operation. The arrest of Durante King-Mclean, a 25-year-old man from Brampton, USA, exposed a parallel criminal network, revealing links between the gold thieves and a firearms smuggling scheme into Canada.
Police seized evidence that suggested the stolen gold had been melted down and turned into other forms, such as jewelry, in an attempt to hide its origin.
In total, seven were arrested after a year-long investigation.
This story originally appeared on Ndtv.com read the full story
