Proactive Investors - Exactly one year after 6,600 gold bars worth C$20 million and $2.5 million in foreign currencies were stolen from an Air Canada (TSX:TSX:AC.B) cargo facility at Toronto’s Pearson airport, police have arrested multiple people and laid charges.
Police said on Wednesday that they have charged nine people, including two suspects who were employed by Air Canada at the time of the heist.
They have laid 19 charges in total and interrupted a “large quantity of firearms” intended for import into Canada related to the case.
About C$430,000 was seized by police believed to be profits from the sale of the gold. Police said they also discovered smelting pots used to make “crudely fashioned” jewellery and other items.
The involvement of Air Canada (TSX:AC.B) employees was a key part of the investigation.
One person arrested was an Air Canada (TSX:AC.B) employee, a 54-year-old man from Brampton. An arrest warrant has also been issued for another man who was employed by the airline when the theft occurred.
The gold and foreign currencies arrived at Pearson airport on April 17, 2023, on a flight from Zurich, Switzerland.
Police allege they were stolen by the suspect who presented Air Canada staff with a fraudulent airway bill, which had been for a legitimate shipment of seafood picked up the day before. They said the fake airway bill was printed from a printer within the Air Canada cargo facility.
The theft was the largest gold heist in Canadian history, according to Peel Regional Police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich.