Toronto Pearson Airport Gold Heist Steals $20 Million

A total of $20 million worth of gold and other valuables were stolen after being taken off a plane at Toronto Pearson International Airport, police said.

Peel Regional Police said the theft occurred Monday when a “high-value container” was stolen from a cargo facility that had been unloaded from a plane landing at the airport.

“An aircraft arrived at the airport in the evening. As per normal procedure, the aircraft was disembarked and the cargo was transferred from the aircraft to the cargo hold,” Inspector Steven Duivestein said when reporting the theft.

Duivestein said that after the cargo was secured in the holding, it was removed “illegally”. The container contained gold and other “valuable goods” worth $20 million.

The missing goods were reported to the police a short time later. Police did not say which airline was responsible for transporting the cargo or where the plane came from.

“It's very rare,” Duivestein said, adding that it's too early to know if the theft was professionally done.

Police also said they did not know where the gold was or if it was still in the country. Police said they believe it was an isolated incident.

“Our goal is to uncover this theft,” Duivestein said. “We want to address that … There should be no concern for the public who are concerned about flying. We do not consider this a public safety issue.”

Police are talking about a $20 million gold heist at Toronto Pearson Airport this week. (The Canadian Press)

No arrests have been made and police have not released any suspect information.

“We're three days away, so our investigators have their eyes open to all avenues,” Duivestein said.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority confirmed in a brief statement to CTV News Toronto that it is aware of the theft, which occurred earlier this week.

“GTAA would like to clarify that the thieves entered the public side of a warehouse leased to a third party, outside of our main security line,” the statement said. “It did not involve access to Toronto Pearson and did not pose a risk to passengers or GTAA staff.”