Some of gold stolen during airport heist was melted down in basement of GTA jewelry store: police
At least some of the gold bars stolen during the heist at Pearson Airport one year ago was likely melted down in the basement of a Toronto area jewelry store, Peel police tell CP24.com.
Last week, investigators held a news conference on the one-year anniversary of the heist, announcing that five suspects had been arrested and four others are facing charges in connection with the largest gold theft in Canadian history.
Police said the suspects face a total of 19 charges and Canada-wide warrants have been issued for the arrest of three of the suspects who have not yet been apprehended.
One former and one current Air Canada employee are among the suspects, as well as a Toronto jewelry store owner, police said.
During last week’s news conference, police shared images of smelting equipment that was seized during the investigation.
In a statement to CP24.com on Monday, police said that equipment, which is used to change the composition of gold, was found in the basement of a GTA jewelry store.
Police display smelting pots, casts and molds which they believe were used to alter gold stolen in a heist at Toronto Pearson airport, (Handout /Peel police)
“In conjunction with other evidence, that leads us to believe that some of the gold was melted there. At this time, we cannot get into precisely how much was melted there,” a spokesperson for the police service said in an email to CP24.com.
Police have also said that the only gold recovered from the heist was melted down and fashioned into six gold bracelets, worth an estimated $89,000.
“The gold bracelets were not found at the same location as the smelting tools, and we cannot divulge where they were found at this time,” police said Monday.
“Regarding the remaining gold, our opinion is that it likely has left the country.”
Six pure gold bracelets worth an estimated $89,000 were recovered as part of an investigation into a gold heist at Toronto Pearson airport and are displayed in this image from Peel police. (Handout)
The gold, along with about $2.5 million in foreign currency, was shipped to Toronto from Zurich in the hull of an Air Canada plane on April 17, 2023. The shipment was offloaded to an Air Canada cargo facility shortly after the flight landed at Pearson Airport that afternoon.
Police allege that a suspect driving a five-tonne delivery truck came into possession of the gold and bank notes after presenting Air Canada personnel with a fraudulent airway bill.
Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah previously said that the heist was “carefully planned” by a “well-organized group of criminals.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Slovakia's populist prime minister shot multiple times in attempted assassination
Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting after a political event Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile.
Transport Canada's UFO 'lead' planned to meet with U.S. intel officials, called info requests a 'wild goose chase'
Canada's transportation department had a UFO 'lead' who tried to 'quell' media interest and planned to meet with U.S. intelligence officials.
'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver handed a cell phone ticket for using points app in McDonald's drive-thru
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
'The Fly' has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?
A prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy that left two guards dead.
BREAKING Ontario's 'crypto king' Aiden Pleterski arrested
Aiden Pleterski, the self-proclaimed 'crypto king' from Whitby, Ont., has been arrested in Durham Region after allegedly running a Ponzi scheme worth more than $40 million.
BREAKING Barge hits a bridge in Texas, damaging the structure and causing an oil spill
A barge hit a bridge in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into surrounding waters and closing the only road to a small island, officials said.
Person responsible for 1996 drugging of 'Titanic' crew likely not a local: Halifax police
Halifax Regional Police believe a non-resident could be responsible for the infamous drugging of numerous crew members of the 'Titanic' movie with a hallucinogenic in 1996.
Latest updates on the biggest wildfires burning in Canada
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
OPINION Your attention span is shrinking, studies say. Here's how to stay focused: Sandee LaMotte
Regaining your focus requires you to be mindful of how you are using technology -- a daunting task if you consider the average American spends at least 10 hours a day on screens.