Peel Regional Police have arrested six men in connection with a $22.5 million gold theft committed a year ago at Toronto Pearson International Airport. Three other men are still wanted.
“It’s a sensational story and one that, as we joke, could belong in a Netflix series,” said Peel Regional Police (PRP) Chief Nishan Duraiappah in a press conference broadcast in line Wednesday morning.
PRP collaborated with the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in this joint investigation which led to six arrests, three search warrants and 19 charges.
Two male Air Canada employees allegedly actively participated in the $22.5 million theft, which the PRP described as “one of the largest gold thefts in Canadian history,” on the phone with The Press.
The loot totaled 6,600 gold bars worth approximately $20 million Canadian dollars and nearly $2.5 million in foreign currencies. The cargo was stolen on April 17, 2023, shortly after arriving from Zurich aboard an Air Canada plane.
During this investigation called Project 24K, police intercepted a significant quantity of firearms supposed to be imported into Canada, in addition to seizing more than 500,000 Canadian dollars in gold and cash.
Parmpal Sidhu, a 54-year-old Air Canada warehouse worker, was arrested and charged with theft over $5,000, as well as criminal conspiracy, for playing a central role in the theft.
PHOTO CARLOS OSORIO, REUTERS
Detective Sergeant Mike Mavity
A warrant has been issued across Canada for the arrest of Simran Preet Panesar, a warehouse manager who gave investigators a “guided tour” of the cargo unit after the theft, according to Detective Sergeant Mike Mavity. The 51-year-old resigned from Air Canada last summer.
The subterfuge
A man on a 5-ton truck arrived at the Air Canada cargo unit and gained entry using a fraudulent air waybill, which was a copy of the document used for a seafood shipment the day before. The suspect then allegedly loaded the gold and cash onto his vehicle and left the unit, Detective Sergeant Mike Mavity said at a press conference.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY PEEL REGIONAL POLICE
Durante McLean, 25, was the driver of the truck used to transport the stolen cargo.
The fraudulent air waybill was printed inside Air Canada facilities, according to Detective Sgt.
It was the same evening, when Brink’s Canada employees came to collect the gold and cash, that Air Canada realized the cargo had disappeared. An internal investigation immediately began, and the PRP was contacted the following morning.
Police were able to trace the path taken by the driver using video captured by business surveillance cameras and other sources, according to Mike Mavity. The PRP, however, lost track of the suspect in the town of Milton, about forty kilometers from the airport.
The suspect identified
Investigators later discovered that 25-year-old Durante McLean was the driver of the truck. The young man is currently in custody in the United States after his arrest in Pennsylvania in September, according to Detective Sgt.
U.S. police officers allegedly found 65 firearms in his rental car, including two that had been modified to be fully automatic and five ghost guns without serial numbers, according to a PRP press release.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY PEEL REGIONAL POLICE
The firearms Durante McLean was carrying were on their way to Canada, police say.
“The thing that must be remembered is that there are 65 fewer weapons in circulation,” underlined the PRP, in an interview with The Press.
According to Mike Mavity, the firearms were in transit to Canada. “We suspect that some of the individuals who participated in the robbery are also involved in aspects of firearms trafficking,” Detective Sergeant said at a press conference.
Links to drug trafficking
In the past year, authorities executed 37 search warrants related to the theft investigation, which led to the seizure of $430,000 in cash, six pure gold bracelets believed to have come from the theft worth approximately $89,000, along with castings and vats.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY PEEL REGIONAL POLICE
The bracelets seized by investigators are said to be made of stolen gold.
According to Mark Mavity, the gold was melted down and reconstituted on local and international markets.
Investigators also found lists of debts commonly associated with drug trafficking. According to the detective sergeant, the amount of one of these lists rose to 10.23 million dollars, while the other list amounted to 9.94 million.
“We believe these lists show where the money was distributed when the gold was sold by the suspects,” added Mike Mavity.
reference: www.lapresse.ca