TORONTO (AP) — Police said nine people are facing charges in what authorities are calling the biggest gold theft in Canadian history from Toronto’s Pearson International airport a year ago.
Peel Regional Police said Wednesday that 6,600 gold bars worth more than 20 million Canadian dollars ($14.5 million), and CA$2.5 million ($1.8 million) in foreign currencies were stolen. The gold was melted down and used to purchase illegal firearms, police said.
Those charged include an Air Canada warehouse employee and a former Air Canada manager who gave police a tour of cargo of the facility after the theft. A jewelry store owner is also charged.
“This story is a sensational one and which probably, we jokingly say, belongs in a Netflix series,” Peel Regional Chief Nishan Duraiappah said.
Peel Regional Detective Sgt. Mike Mavity said the gold bars, weighing 419 kilograms (923 pounds), and foreign currency, ordered from a refinery in Zurich, Switzerland, were transported in the haul of an Air Canada flight on April 17 last year.
Election 2024: Denial and uncertainty are looming over a Biden
5 takeaways from the global negotiations on a treaty to end plastic pollution
Confidence of US consumers continues to decline as Americans worry about the future
Brazil soccer player Gabriel Barbosa cleared by CAS to play during appeal in doping rules case
Survivors of alleged abuse in Illinois youth detention facilities step forward
California's population grew in 2023, halting 3 years of decline
Swiatek rallies against Haddad Maia to reach Madrid Open semis
Nottingham stabbing victim Grace O'Malley
Cliffs that sport mystical tattoos
Denise Welch confirms she's moved house after knife
Chinese yuan strengthens to 7.0994 against USD Monday
Alicia Keys, Brian d’Arcy James, Daniel Radcliffe and more react to earning Tony Award nominations