A gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport saw nearly $15 million of the stuff disappear Monday, in a case that so far has authorities at a loss.
Peel Regional Police disclosed the theft at a press conference Thursday, revealing that a “high-value container” seemed to have gone missing after it was unloaded from an aircraft and moved to a cargo holding facility Monday evening.
Peel Police Inspector Stephen Duivesteyn described the container as roughly five square feet in size. Whoever took it did so “by illegal means,” Duivesteyn said.
Sources told the Toronto Sun the thieves made off with as much as 3,600 pounds of gold, worth in excess of $100 million, though Duivesteyn told reporters the haul was (relatively) less lucrative.
“It did contain gold, but was not exclusive to gold and contained other items of monetary value,” he said.
The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) emphasized in a statement that the heist occurred at a third-party warehouse “outside of our primary security line.”
Whoever stole the loot didn’t access Toronto Pearson itself and did not pose a threat to passengers or staff, GTAA said.
As for speculation that organized crime might be to blame, Duivesteyn preached caution.
“We’re three days in, so our investigators have their eyes open to all avenues,” he said. “We’re kind of keeping a broad outlook on it, so we’re looking on all angles on how this item was stolen.”
Murray Faulkner, a retired London, Ontario, police chief, told Canada’s CTV News he’s optimistic they’ll catch whoever’s responsible.
He said the ample security footage, coupled with a limited number of people who knew of the shipment’s whereabouts and value, will likely lead to a limited and easily identified number of individuals.
“Obviously, if this is at least a meter big, it’s not something you can pick up and put in your pocket,” said Faulkner. “It probably required a number of individuals to lift it or, in fact, even a forklift.”