Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
So, where did 400 kilograms of gold valued at an estimated $20 million go?
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
That’s one of the burning questions investigators are now working to answer after charging nine suspects in connection with the April 17, 2023 heist.
Six of those suspects have been taken into custody, while three others remain outstanding.
“The missing piece (of this investigation) is where did it go?” CTV News crime expert Mark Mendelson, himself a former Toronto police homicide detective, said during an interview with CP24 on Wednesday.
“Part of doing this heist was that they needed to have purchasers readily available. This isn’t three bucks or three pounds worth of gold you stick in a knapsack and then you walk out the door with it. It's almost 1,000 pounds in gold. You can't just go to your local cash-for-gold guy at some strip mall and say, ‘Hey, I got a trunk full of gold how much you're going to give me for this?’ So they have to have had some plans in order.”
Police said on Wednesday that two of the accused in the theft worked for Air Canada at the time of the incident, while another owned a jewelry store in Toronto.
As part of their investigation, dubbed Project 24K, investigators were able to seize six gold bangles, valued at about $89,000.
But it remains unclear where the rest of the gold ended up.
Police, for their part, have said that they believe some of it was likely melted down and sold with the proceeds used to purchase illegal guns for a firearms trafficking operation.
Speaking with CP24, Mendelson said that there is always the possibility that more of the stolen gold might be found “if it hasn’t already been melted down.”
He said that determining where the stolen gold went, essentially who bought it, will be a key part of the investigation moving forward.
“There may be people calling in anonymously, and just saying, ‘Look, I didn't realize that this guy was part of this but having said that, seven months ago, he said to me A, B, and C.’ So there's all kinds of things that will further this investigation as we move down the road,” he said.
“There's a lot of jewelry, a lot of gold that's still out there and that's why this investigation is far from over.”
To watch CP24’s full interview with Mendelson click on the video player above.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
2 died in plane crash near Squamish, B.C., police confirm
Two people died after a plane went down in a remote area near Squamish, B.C. on Friday, authorities have confirmed.
Grayson Murray's parents say the two-time PGA Tour winner died of suicide
Grayson Murray's parents said Sunday their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event.
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
After more than 100 years, Newfoundland's unknown soldier returns home
An unknown Newfoundland soldier, who fought and died on the battlefields in northeastern France during the First World War, is back home this weekend for the first time in more than a hundred years.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Indianapolis 500 starts after 4-hour rain delay with Kyle Larson in the field
The Indianapolis 500 started Sunday after a rain delay of four hours with NASCAR star Kyle Larson still at the track and in the race.
Some birds may use 'mental time travel,' study finds
Real quick — what did you have for lunch yesterday? Were you with anyone? Where were you? Can you picture the scene? The ability to remember things that happened to you in the past, especially to go back and recall little incidental details, is a hallmark of what psychologists call episodic memory — and new research indicates that it’s an ability humans may share with birds called Eurasian jays.