Pearson Airport Gold Heist: Police Announce 9 Arrests

Nine people have been arrested in connection with last year's gold heist at Pearson International Airport, Peel Regional Police announced Wednesday.

The arrests were announced at a press conference dedicated to the one-year anniversary of the robbery.

Police said a total of 19 suspects have been charged and arrest warrants have been issued for three other suspects in Canada.

At a press conference Wednesday morning, police said that on the evening of April 17, 2023, the suspect stole 6,600 gold bars from an Air Canada cargo facility in a five-ton truck.

The gold was shipped from Zurich to Toronto in the fuselage of an Air Canada plane and unloaded at an Air Canada cargo facility shortly after landing at Pearson Airport that afternoon.

Six pure gold bracelets worth about $89,000 have been recovered as part of an investigation into the theft of gold at Toronto Pearson Airport and this photo from Peel Police. (Handout)

Police believe the suspect got hold of the stolen gold after presenting a fraudulent travel document to Air Canada employees.

“The air waybills were for a legitimate shipment of seafood that was received the day before,” said Det.-Sgt. Mike Maviti, principal manager of the joint investigation, known as Project 24K, told reporters Wednesday.

“This duplicate waybill was printed from a printer inside Air Canada's luggage.”

Mavity said a short time later, a forklift arrived and loaded the stolen gold and foreign currency into the back of the truck.

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