Gold stolen in Toronto airport heist now likely overseas, police admit
Investigation cost already at $5.3 million, could reach $10 million
Peel Regional Police have quietly conceded that millions in gold stolen from Toronto Pearson Airport in April 2023 was likely quickly smuggled out of Canada to the Middle East or South Asia.
"We believe a large portion has gone overseas to markets that are flush with gold," lead investigator Det. Sgt. Mike Mavity told members of the Peel Police Service Board during a June 21 meeting.
"That would be Dubai, or India, where you can take gold with serial numbers on it and they will still honour it and melt it down…. And we believe that happened very shortly after the incident."
Police have been investigating the low-tech robbery for almost 15 months — probing how a man gained entry to an Air Canada Cargo terminal with a duplicate waybill for a shipment of seafood, and then drove off with a palette full of gold bars. But few updates have been given to the press or public.
On the first anniversary of the heist, investigators held a splashy media conference to announce they had arrested nine men in connection with the case and were searching for three others.
Yet little was said about the links between the alleged criminals, or what ultimately happened to the 400 kilograms of still-missing gold.
The new Police Service Board briefing — delivered on a summer Friday, with no media present — came on the heels of a CBC News investigation highlighting several lingering questions about the heist, including the force's assertions that the robbery was a case of "reverse alchemy" where gold became guns, as evidenced by the seizure of 65 pistols. Peel Police declined an interview request for that story, and refused to answer written questions, even those pertaining to the most basic details of the crime.
Members of the board devoted several minutes of the meeting to criticism of the CBC News report, but the presentation by investigators validated much of the content of the CBC investigation.
Only a 'very small quantity' melted down in Mississauga
In addition to admitting the trail now points to Dubai and India, police also acknowledged the 6,600 gold bars were worth millions more at the time of the heist than they had repeatedly stated.
"Whether it's $20 million or $34 million might be a mitigating factor come sentencing, but it doesn't in my opinion change a lot," said Mavity. "From a police standpoint, the offence is theft over $5000."
The detectives also clarified statements they made during the April press conference, backing away from prior suggestions that all of the stolen gold had been melted down in the basement of a Mississauga jewelry store.
"We believe a very small quantity was melted at that jewelry shop," said Det. Gord Oakes.
"At no point were we ever alleging that 400 kilograms of gold were melted down in a small jewelry shop by hand. That wasn't the message that we were trying to relay," added Mavity.
Links between men charged
For the first time, police sketched out some of the alleged links between the men they have charged in connection with the robbery. Among the new details:
- Archit Grover, charged with theft over $5,000 and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, is a "longtime friend" of Parmpal Sidhu, who was working at the Air Canada Cargo terminal at the time of the heist, and now faces identical charges.
- Grover is the owner of the white truck that was used in the robbery, and the employer of Durante King-McLean, the man whom police say was driving the truck. King-McLean also faces a charge of theft over $5,000.
- Grover's cousin, Amit Jalota, who faces two counts of possession of property obtained by crime, along with charges of theft and conspiracy, "looked after the gold" along with "an associate" Arsalan Chaudhary, who faces the same charges. Police allege that Jalota also "facilitated the melting" of a small quantity of gold via Ali Raza, the owner of a Mississauga jewelry store, who faces a charge of possession of property obtained by crime.
- Prasath Paramalingam and Ammad Chaudhary, who both faces accessory after the fact charges, are accused of having "assisted" King-McLean cross into the United States after the robbery, and having "provide(d) him with the ability to stay in the U.S. for a long period of time."
According to the briefing, police are still investigating the heist, and looking for both the missing gold and money that might have been made from its sale. Next steps, the board was told, include the examination of over 40 electronic devices seized from the suspects, and the issuing of production orders to financial institutions for banking records.
Investigation has cost $5.3M so far
The board was also given an update on the spiralling cost of the 'Project 24 Karat' investigation — $5.3 million so far, with an estimated final price tag of $10 million. To date, the 20 officers assigned to the case have logged 28,000 regular hours and an additional 9,500 hours of overtime.
The update provided no additional information on the purported link to cross-border gun-running.
Jeff Hershberg, a Toronto criminal defence lawyer, says he isn't surprised by the new information.
"I always question the police narrative. It's hard not to after seeing everything I've seen," he said. "They have these flashy press conferences … and it isn't always the narrative that comes out once the trial begins."
"I've never seen stolen gold involved in any of my gun cases that I've done. I don't see the link that the police are trying to portray here," Hershberg added. "Time will tell when disclosure is given."
Jonathon Gatehouse can be contacted via email at jonathon.gatehouse@cbc.ca, or reached via the CBC's digitally encrypted Securedrop system at https://www.cbc.ca/securedrop/
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