Almost exactly one year to the day thieves made off with $20 million in gold bars from Toronto’s Pearson Airport, police say they have made arrests in the case that has been ranked as the sixth largest heist of all time.Peel Regional Police and the US Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau will hold a news conference Wednesday morning to provide more information.No further details were immediately available, including whether police had actually recovered any of the stolen loot.But The National Post is reporting that three men from Brampton, ON identified in US court documents are alleged to have been in an international gun running ring.Durante King-Mclean, 25, Prasath Paramalingam, 34, and Archit Grover, 36, as well as Jalisa Edwards, 25, from Ft. Lauderdale, FL, have been indicted in the United States for a conspiracy to engage in international firearms trafficking.Law enforcement sources said the arrests are linked to the Toronto gold heist.Authorities said Paramalingam was involved in the gun conspiracy since April 2023 — around the time of the gold heist — with others to arrange for King-Mclean’s illegal entry into the US while also allegedly heling to fund the trip. Grover and Edwards are charged as accessories after the fact to conceal evidence.On April 17 of last year, 24 gold bars from Switzerland vanished from a warehouse at Toronto’s airport before they could be retrieved by their rightful owners.The bars were in a shipping container stuffed with the bullion and $2 million in cash before it was retrieved by an unauthorized person less than an hour after arriving at an Air Canada cargo facility.Due to its inherent value and limited traceability, it’s almost impossible to recover once it’s been melted down.Police will detail the results of ‘Project 24K’ a secret joint-task investigation with American authorities. The presence of the Philadelphia branch of the ATF would suggest a cross border angle with American and other international involvement.Security company Brinks has filed a lawsuit against Air Canada alleging lax procedures despite knowing the contents of the container.In a statement of defence, Air Canada denied responsibility for the theft and alleges Brinks shipped the cargo without declaring its value, without insurance and without providing — or paying — for extra security.It’s not even the biggest gold heist in modern history. That distinction goes to the British Bank of the Middle East in Beirut which was robbed of 12,000 kilograms of gold bars worth more than $1 billion on January 20, 1976 during the height of Lebanon’s civil war.
Almost exactly one year to the day thieves made off with $20 million in gold bars from Toronto’s Pearson Airport, police say they have made arrests in the case that has been ranked as the sixth largest heist of all time.Peel Regional Police and the US Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau will hold a news conference Wednesday morning to provide more information.No further details were immediately available, including whether police had actually recovered any of the stolen loot.But The National Post is reporting that three men from Brampton, ON identified in US court documents are alleged to have been in an international gun running ring.Durante King-Mclean, 25, Prasath Paramalingam, 34, and Archit Grover, 36, as well as Jalisa Edwards, 25, from Ft. Lauderdale, FL, have been indicted in the United States for a conspiracy to engage in international firearms trafficking.Law enforcement sources said the arrests are linked to the Toronto gold heist.Authorities said Paramalingam was involved in the gun conspiracy since April 2023 — around the time of the gold heist — with others to arrange for King-Mclean’s illegal entry into the US while also allegedly heling to fund the trip. Grover and Edwards are charged as accessories after the fact to conceal evidence.On April 17 of last year, 24 gold bars from Switzerland vanished from a warehouse at Toronto’s airport before they could be retrieved by their rightful owners.The bars were in a shipping container stuffed with the bullion and $2 million in cash before it was retrieved by an unauthorized person less than an hour after arriving at an Air Canada cargo facility.Due to its inherent value and limited traceability, it’s almost impossible to recover once it’s been melted down.Police will detail the results of ‘Project 24K’ a secret joint-task investigation with American authorities. The presence of the Philadelphia branch of the ATF would suggest a cross border angle with American and other international involvement.Security company Brinks has filed a lawsuit against Air Canada alleging lax procedures despite knowing the contents of the container.In a statement of defence, Air Canada denied responsibility for the theft and alleges Brinks shipped the cargo without declaring its value, without insurance and without providing — or paying — for extra security.It’s not even the biggest gold heist in modern history. That distinction goes to the British Bank of the Middle East in Beirut which was robbed of 12,000 kilograms of gold bars worth more than $1 billion on January 20, 1976 during the height of Lebanon’s civil war.
