Gold Toronto Pearson Airport heist: Police announce 9 arrests

Nine suspects wanted in connection with last year's gold heist at Pearson International Airport have now been identified by investigators, Peel Regional Police said.

At a press conference Wednesday marking the one-year anniversary of the theft, police said two of the suspects were employed by Air Canada at the time of the theft.

Police said 19 charges have been laid and arrest warrants have been issued across Canada for three of the suspects who have yet to be arrested.

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, along with about $2.5 million in foreign currency, was shipped from Zurich to Toronto on an Air Canada flight 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 and banknotes after presenting a fake airline ticket to Air Canada employees.

“The airway report is 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 airline ticket was printed from the Air Canada cargo printer.”

Mavity said a short time later, a forklift arrived and loaded the stolen gold and currency into the back of a truck. The suspect then fled with gold bars valued at $20 million.

Brinks Canada, which was hired to provide security and logistics services for the shipment, arrived at the facility hours later to retrieve the items.

A map showing the estimated movement of vehicles during the gold heist at Toronto Pearson Airport is shown at a press conference on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Handout/Peel police)

Air Canada employees tried to locate the container, realized it was missing and quickly launched an internal investigation, police said. Police were alerted to the stolen goods at 3 a.m. the next day, Mawiti said.

On Wednesday, police said the suspect investigators identified as the driver of the truck is currently in custody in the United States and is wanted on multiple charges related to the investigation, including theft of more than $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime.

This is breaking news. Full details to come.