Nine Individuals, Including Two Air Canada Employees, Charged in $14.5M Gold Heist at Toronto Airport

Nine individuals, including two Air Canada employees, are facing charges in connection with a stunning gold heist at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, where a staggering $14.5 million worth of gold was stolen from a shipping container.

Peel Regional Police made the announcement on the one-year anniversary of the heist, revealing that five men had been arrested and warrants had been issued for four others involved in the caper.

Among those implicated are Simran Preet Panesar, 31, and 54-year-old Parmpal Sidhu, both of whom worked for Air Canada. Panesar, in fact, had given police a tour of the facility prior to his involvement being discovered.

The remaining suspects are Durante King-Mclean, 25, Prasath Paramalingam, 34, Archit Grover, 36, Arsalan Chaudhary, 42, Amit Jalota, 40, Ammad Chaudhary, 43, and Ali Raza, 37.

According to authorities, the theft occurred when King-Mclean drove a truck into the airport warehouse, using a falsified document printed on an Air Canada printer.

This document allowed him to pick up a shipment of gold bars and banknotes that had been flown in from Switzerland.

The stolen gold, along with over $2 million in foreign banknotes, was loaded onto the truck and driven away. Despite the massive value of the stolen goods, only a fraction has been recovered by police.

Investigators believe that the stolen gold was used to purchase firearms, which were then smuggled into Canada. King-Mclean, who is currently in US custody, was arrested with 65 firearms in his possession, including stolen and fully automatic weapons.

Several of the suspects are also facing charges in the US for their involvement in the firearms trafficking operation.

The heist, deemed one of Canada’s largest gold thefts, has sparked a complex investigation involving multiple agencies on both sides of the border.