A cargo container with more than $15 million of gold and other valuables has disappeared at Toronto Pearson International Airport after being offloaded from an aircraft.
The theft took place Monday evening after the shipment was transferred to a cargo facility, according to the Peel Regional Police.
Authorities say they have no suspects and are still trying to track down the shipment.
The thieves accessed the public side of a warehouse that is leased to a third party, “outside of our primary security line,” the Greater Toronto Airports Authority said in a statement on Thursday. “This did not involve access to Toronto Pearson itself and did not pose a threat to passengers or GTAA staff.”
Neither police nor airport officials have provided any information on the cargo warehouse where the alleged crime took place or the airline involved. Bloomberg is reporting that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have been brought in to investigate.
The Toronto Sun was first to report the pilfered shipment and says it has seen a confidential note that the gold and banknotes belonged to TD Bank and that Air Canada was the carrier. The Globe and Mail, citing an anonymous source, said Air Canada’s cargo division was handling the gold when it got lost. Air Canada has a large cargo terminal is in Toronto.
“We have no information to provide. Please contact the Peel Police,” Air Canada said in response to an email query.
Canada has large gold mines and gold is often transported through Toronto Pearson, according to local news outlets.
Airlines and ground handlers typically employ tighter security measures for high-value goods, but systems are sometimes breached. In May 2021, two individuals working for an airport services company at Los Angeles International Airport were charged with stealing four gold bars from a large shipment after armored car company Brinks lost track of them.
In early March, a shootout between an organized crime group targeting a $32.5 million shipment that arrived on Latam Airlines from Miami and security personnel at Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport in Santiago, Chile, left two dead. The shipment was to be transferred to a Brinks vehicle for transport to the end customer.
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