Pearson heist worthy of a Netflix series

Out of the 400 kilograms of gold that was stolen, police recovered just one kilogram, worth about $89,000, and approximately $434,000 in Canadian currency. They did turn up smelting equipment and suspect the rest of it was melted down and sold

There’s something about trains and planes that make for spectacular heists, worthy of movie plots and bestsellers.

In the 1963 “Great Train Robbery,” robbers in Britain manipulated railway signals to stop a Royal Mail train on a deserted stretch of track, then hauled away millions of pounds in bank notes to waiting vehicles.

In 1983, six armed men posed as security guards to rob a warehouse near London’s Heathrow Airport, making away with three tonnes of gold bullion, cash and diamonds worth tens of millions of pounds at the time.

In 2005, robbers disguised as airline employees stole diamonds valued at around $80 million at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. Eight years later, robbers, this time dressed as police officers, targeted a Swiss-bound plane at Brussels airport and made off with 120 parcels of diamonds valued at more than $50 million. In 2019, gunmen stole valued at more than $30 million from São Paulo airport.

Last year, a crime closer to home joined the list of infamous heists.

A shipment of 6,600 bars of pure gold, valued at more than $20 million, along with $2.5 million in foreign currency arrived at Pearson International Airport on an Air Canada flight from Switzerland and was off-loaded to an airport warehouse.

Early the next morning, the cargo was reported missing to police. Like other airport thefts, this one involved deception, a wellorganized theft and valuables disappearing into thin air. It was a case that captivated a public wondering the whereabouts of the bullion.

On Wednesday — a year to the day of the crime — Peel Regional Police announced they had identified those alleged to be responsible — nine individuals are facing 19 charges. Among them are two men who were Air Canada employees at the time of the theft and a Toronto jewelry store owner.

At a news conference, officers laid out details of the well-oiled plot. Within an hour of the valuables arriving at the warehouse, a suspect arrived. Using a waybill that was actually for a seafood shipment the day before, he was able to gain access to the warehouse, get the container loaded on his truck and drive away.

It the largest theft of gold in Canadian history.

“This story is a sensational one and one which probably, we jokingly say, belongs in a Netflix series,” said Nishan Duraiappah, chief of the Peel Regional Police. The police force wasn’t above a bit of showmanship themselves in announcing the results of the probe — named Project 24Karat — as they displayed video of the theft and used the actual truck as a backdrop.

In a twist, the investigation into the gold theft laid bare a gun-running ring. The alleged driver of the truck was arrested in September in the U.S., found with 65 guns believed destined for illegal import in Canada. Investigators say some of the proceeds from the gold theft was used to purchase those weapons. That connection between the illegal activities was compared to the epidemic of car thefts that profits organized crime.

“Everybody expects that when you have a criminal organized network, they generally focus or specialize in one area. The reality is that doesn’t occur anymore. Very similar to private enterprise, they diversify,” said Peel Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich.

As to the missing loot? There’s no Hollywood ending here. Much of it is still missing. Out of the 400 kilograms of gold that was stolen, the police recovered just one kilogram, worth about $89,000 in the form of several crudely fashioned gold bangles, and approximately $434,000 in Canadian currency. They did turn up smelting equipment and suspect the rest of it was melted down and sold. Now officers are trying to follow the money.

This crime had all the ingredients — insiders, means, opportunity and a glittering gold temptation that proved too good to pass up. Too good, that is unless the cops came knocking.