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Authorities Baffled; $22 Million in Gold Disappears From Canada’s Pearson International Airport

Published: April 20, 2023
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Travelers are seen at the international arrivals area at the Toronto Pearson Airport in Toronto, Canada, on Jan. 26, 2020. Authorities are scrambling after an estimated $100 million worth of gold went missing from the airport. (Image: COLE BURSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

Authorities are scrambling to find the culprit after an estimated C$22 million worth of gold and other valuables disappeared from the Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada this week.

The local Peel Regional Police department have asked for help from Canada’s federal police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) following a heist where a thief, or thieves, made off with 3,600 pounds of gold that was being moved through the airport. 

“Pearson is often used to move gold mined in Ontario to customers around the world,” The Toronto Sun, which broke the story, reported. 

Sources told the Toronto Sun that police believe the theft was perpetrated by a local outfit; however, authorities are also looking at organized crime elements in the region.

Major ports across Canada are often used by organized criminals to steal or move stolen goods, and these groups either embed members of their groups at these ports or attempt to compromise people already working there to do their bidding.

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According to the Toronto Sun, “Several organized crime groups are known to have either people or allies placed at Pearson, monitoring their activities and controlling them is close to a full-time job.”

Despite this heavy monitoring, however, authorities are baffled as to who could have pulled off the heist, which may be the largest in Canadian history.

It was deduced that the gold was not stolen in an attempt to fund terrorism, because, if that was the case, the airport would have implemented protocols that would have, at a minimum, resulted in a partial shutdown of the airport the moment authorities became aware of the theft. 

Authorities are not even sure how the gold was moved out of the airport and it could be the case that some of it still remains on site. It’s speculated that a heavy-duty domestic vehicle, like a work truck, could be sufficient to move that amount of gold.

The gold may have been loaded on planes and flown out of the country.

To date, the Peel Regional Police have only said that the robbery occurred on Wednesday, April 19, but would not confirm any further details.