Police in Canada have arrested multiple people accused of stealing thousands of gold bars worth more than 20 million Canadian dollars ($14m), in what authorities say was the largest gold heist in the country\u2019s history. Last year\u2019s theft at a Toronto Pearson International Airport facility was orchestrated by a \u201cwell-organised group of criminals\u201d, Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah told reporters on Wednesday. \u201cThis particular theft has become the largest gold theft in Canadian history, and it\u2019s one of the largest, for that matter, in North America.\u201d The shipment of 6,600 gold bars weighed 400kg (882 pounds) and came from a refinery in Switzerland. That cargo, along with 2.5 million Canadian dollars ($1.8m) in foreign bank notes, was stolen from an Air Canada facility on April 17, 2023. On Wednesday, police named nine suspects in the heist and detailed the charges they face. Five of the suspects were arrested in Canada and released on bail pending trial, police said. One additional suspect, originally from Brampton, Ontario, was arrested in the state of Pennsylvania after being discovered with dozens of illegal firearms. That person remains in custody in the United States. Canada-wide arrest warrants have been issued for the remaining three suspects. The accused include two Air Canada employees and a jewellery store owner, as well as the alleged getaway driver. According to authorities, the stolen gold was initially offloaded from a plane and then securely stored in a cargo holding facility. Two and a half hours later, a man driving a truck arrived at the loading dock with a fraudulent air waybill to claim the cargo. The document he used to track the international shipments had been printed at the Air Canada cargo facility. In the aftermath of Wednesday\u2019s announcement, Air Canada said it had suspended one cargo division employee charged in the theft. The other, who worked in the same department at the time of the heist, had left the airline before the charges were announced. \u201cAs this is now before the courts, we are limited in our ability to comment further,\u201d Air Canada said in a statement. Authorities said they believe some of the suspects were also involved in illegal firearms trafficking. Police added that they seized 430,000 Canadian dollars ($312,000) believed to be profits from the sale of the gold, and six \u201ccrudely made\u201d gold bracelets worth an estimated $89,000 Canadian dollars ($65,000).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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