9 people charged with gold theft at Pearson Airport

Nine people, including Air Canada employees, have been charged in connection with the incident $20 million gold heist at Toronto Pearson Airport it was carefully executed exactly one year ago, Peel Regional Police said.

Peel Regional Police announced the arrests with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms at a press conference Wednesday. The joint investigation, called Project 24K, stands for 24 karat gold.

Nine defendants have been identified, including Durante King-McLean, 25, Prasath Paramalingam, 34, and Archit Grover, 36, all of Brampton, among others. King-McLean and Grover remain wanted in Canada.

Parmpal Sidhu, 54, of Brampton (an Air Canada employee), Amit Jalota, 40, of Oakville, Ammad Chaudhary, 43, of Georgetown, Ali Raza, 37, of Toronto, and Paramalingam, were arrested and released on conditions.

A Canada-wide arrest warrant has been issued for Simran Preet Panesar, 31, of Brampton, a former Air Canada employee who worked for the airline at the time of the theft, Arsalan Chaudhary, 42, of Brampton, and Grover.

Authorities have confirmed that some of the individuals, including King-McLean, Paramalingam and Grover, have been charged with international firearms trafficking in the United States.

US officials were involved in September 2023, months after the Pearson Airport gold heist, when one of the suspects, identified as King-McLean, was arrested on suspicion of motor vehicle violations in Pennsylvania.

Police determined that King-McLean fled the scene on foot and was in the country illegally. He is currently in police custody in the US but is wanted in Canada on robbery-related charges.

Responding officers searched his rental car and found 65 firearms illegally imported into Canada. Two of those firearms are fully automatic and are considered machine guns under federal law, and 11 of the firearms were identified as stolen, according to US authorities.

Nine men face 19 charges, some spanning Canada

---

The U.S. Attorney's office confirmed that Paramalingam was involved in the sale of firearms to King-McLean and that he conspired with the defendant beginning in April 2023, at the same time as the Pearson gold heist.

Investigators believe Paramalingam arranged King-McLean's illegal entry into the United States and financed the purchase of various firearms for King-McLean, which he obtained in Florida, Georgia and elsewhere.

Grover was charged as an accessory after the fact for aiding and abetting King-McLean. This included concealing evidence and providing information to accomplices related to King-McLean's gun smuggling operation.

Details of the 2023 Pearson Airport Gold Heist

The flight landed on April 17, 2023 before 16:00. Police said the shipments, which were believed to be stored in containers about five to six square feet, were placed in an Air Canada warehouse at the airport two hours later.

Peel Regional Police said at a press conference Wednesday that they tracked down the stolen gold truck. Authorities were able to confirm that King-McLean was the driver and that the gold was “roughly manipulated” to make bracelets and other monetary items.

As part of the investigation, approximately $430,000 in Canadian currency, believed to be the proceeds of the gold sale, was seized. Police also found melting pots used to make jewellery. One of the participants in the robbery, Raza, was managing a jewelry store at that time.

---

Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said it was the largest gold heist in Canadian history and the sixth largest in global crime history.

“Organized crime and criminals who come into our community and target it or try to profit from it can expect the same result,” Milinovic said. “This is proof of that.”

A lawsuit against Air Canada A US security company has accused a Brink's thief of providing false documents to obtain nearly $23.8 million worth of merchandise from a Pearson Airport holding company.

Brink's statement said Air Canada employees handed over 400 kilograms of gold worth more than $20 million to the thief, along with about $2 million in cash.

The company said Air Canada employees failed to properly investigate and authenticate a document shared by an “unknown person” during the planned theft. Air Canada denied the allegations and said it did not carry valuable cargo insurance.