'This story is a sensational one,' say police after theft of gold
Numerous people have been arrested and charged for a gold heist that police described as one you may see in a Netflix series.
The people were involved in the theft of some $22.5 million in gold and cash from Toronto Pearson International Airport last spring, police said, according to a CBC report.
"This story is a sensational one, and one which probably, we jokingly say, belongs in a Netflix series," said Nishan Duraiappah, Peel police chief.
"This one is a carefully planned and well-organized group of criminals from both inside and outside of airport facilities that orchestrated this theft.”
And two Air Canada workers were allegedly key to the crime.
The estate of a woman who previously worked as an administrator for both the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCHA) was order to pay back over $650,000 for wage fraud and theft.
Gold heist at airport involved Air Canada workers
The gold-heist happened on the evening of April 17, 2023, according to the CBC report. The 400 kilograms of pure gold, worth roughly $20 million, were stolen from the cargo compound shortly after it arrived on a flight from Zurich.
The gold and cash were loaded into a delivery truck and the driver exited the compound.
"They needed people inside Air Canada to facilitate this theft," said lead investigator Det.-Sgt. Mike Mavity, according to the CBC report.
A warehouse worker was one of those involved in the heist, according to the report, along with a manager who resigned from Air Canada last summer.
Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick confirmed two of the individuals identified by the police did work for Air Canada in the cargo division at the time of the heist.
"One left the company prior to the arrests announced today and the second has been suspended," he said, according to CBC. "As this is now before the courts, we are limited in our ability to comment further."
Several other individuals have either been arrested or are wanted for arrest, according to media reports.
"We are alleging that some individuals who participated in this gold theft are also involved in aspects of firearms trafficking," Mavity said.
Brink's Canada, the cash handling company that was supposed to transport the gold and currency the evening it arrived at Pearson, has sued Air Canada for the money lost in the heist.
