Police make arrests in Canada's largest gold heist

Police have arrested and issued warrants for nine people accused in the "largest gold theft in Canadian history" and "one of the largest in North America".

The Canadian Peel Regional Police and US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives gave an update on the investigation on Wednesday, one year after criminals stole 6600 bars of gold from Air Canada's cargo facility in Toronto.

On April 17, 2023, a flight from Zurich to Toronto carried 400kg of gold bars valued at over C$20 million and C$2.5 million in foreign currency, which was then stolen from the cargo facility in what police identified as an inside job.

Peel Regional Police chief Nishan Duraiappah called the heist a  "sensational" story that "belongs in a Netflix series".

The investigation, dubbed ‘Project 24 Karat', has been underway for a year and is still ongoing.

Police said they arrested and charged five men, while country-wide warrants have been issued for three other men. Two of the suspects were (former) employees of Air Canada, one of whom held a manager role, according to the Peel Police.

A ninth suspect is in custody in the US on firearms trafficking-related charges after he was found in possession of 65 illegal guns.

In the last year, investigators have seized over C$430,000, six gold bracelets valued at over C$89,000, and smelting equipment during search warrants.

The authorities emphasised that the investigation is not just about a gold heist, as they allege that some of the suspects that participated in the heist were also involved in firearms trafficking.

"We believe that they melted down the gold and that the profits they got from the gold, they used to help finance the firearms [trafficking]," police said.

During a press conference, special agent Eric DeGree said that the investigation isn't done.

"We've recovered a small amount of the total quantity of gold that was taken, we've recovered some of the proceeds, and – equally as important – we've also recovered some of the firearms that they purchased as a result of those proceeds," DeGree said. "So the investigation is going to continue."