Video of 'million-dollar heist' in Toronto captured by security camera in vault
Three people have been arrested in connection with what police are calling a "million-dollar heist" from a business near Toronto Pearson International Airport last spring.
The robbery, most of which was caught on camera, took place at an establishment that is used for refilling privately owned ATMs near Dixon Road and Carlingview Drive.
Police say that two suspects confronted an employee outside the business just before 9 a.m. on April 1 and forced the employee at gunpoint to take them past a locked door.
Surveillance footage released on Tuesday shows one of the masked suspects holding a gun against the employee’s back as they enter the business. They then go into an interior room where another employee is seated at a desk and drag that employee out by their hand, eventually forcing them to the ground in another room.
The video then shows one of the suspects hitting that employee on the back of the head with the butt of his handgun while the other suspect stuffs cash into a large garbage bag and the second employee lies down on the floor.
Police say that the suspects eventually fled the business with more than a million dollars in cash and got into a waiting getaway vehicle, which left the scene “in tandem” with another vehicle.
“It is quite clear and evident that these individuals have a huge and high propensity for violence,” Supt. Michael Barsky said during a news conference on Tuesday morning as he announced the arrests in the case.
Some of the stolen cash was found at scene of botched home invasion
Barsky said that about $160,000 of the stolen cash was recovered after police responded to a botched home invasion in the northwest corner of the city in May.
He said that the address where that attempted home invasion took place was associated with one of the suspects in the robbery, who is not in custody.
Following that discovery months went by without any arrests in the case, which investigators had dubbed “Project Heavy Bag” due to the overstuffed garbage bag the suspects used to transport the stolen cash.
Then on Sept. 9 police were able to take one of the suspects into custody following a traffic stop in Etobicoke. He was found to be in possession of a fully loaded handgun at the time.
Subsequent to that police executed a total of four search warrants at addresses across Toronto and York Region over the following two days, seizing a large cache of contraband that included seven additional handguns, body armor, high capacity firearm magazines, cocaine and cash.
Two more individuals accused of serving as getaway drivers in the original robbery were arrested during the execution of those search warrants.
Meanwhile, police have issued an arrest warrant for a fourth suspect who they say should be considered “armed and dangerous.”
Emmanuel Rawson, 22, of Toronto, is wanted on four charges, including robbery with a firearm.
“It is alleged that he is involved in the actual robbery,” Barsky said. “His whereabouts are unknown at this point and that's why we're seeking public's assistance in locating Mr. Rawson. I strongly urge him that he seeks counsel and turn himself into any police station.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles, bright yellow devices used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to cities across Canada.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
A Nigerian chess champion plays the royal game for 60 hours - a new global chess record
A Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate played chess nonstop for 60 hours in New York City's Times Square to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.