Police Investigate $20 Million Gold Heist at Pearson Airport

Travellers are photographed at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Dec. 16, 2021. Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press

A cargo container with just over $20 million in gold and other expensive valuables has been stolen from Toronto Pearson International Airport.

Police said a “high value container” in a cargo holding facility was stolen on April 17, soon after arriving by plane.

“An aircraft arrived here at the airport in the early evening. As per normal procedure, the aircraft was unloaded and cargo was transported from the aircraft to a holding cargo facility,” Peel Regional Police Inspector Stephen Duivesteyn said at a news conference outside the police station on April 20.

Duivesteyn said the container was removed from the holding facility “by illegal means,” and would not disclose which airline transported the gold. The Globe and Mail reported on April 20 that the gold was being shipped through Air Canada’s cargo operations.

He placed the container size at roughly five or six feet in size, “a regular sort of aircraft container.”

The inspector said the cargo was reported missing to Peel Regional Police a short time after it vanished, and an investigation is underway by the Criminal Investigation Bureau at the airport division.

“The container contained a high value shipment. It did contain gold, but was not exclusive to gold, and contained other items of monetary value,” said Duivesteyn. The inspector said the total worth of the property is just over $20 million. He added that RCMP will be assisting in the investigation, but Peel Regional Police will maintain the lead.

“We aren’t able to provide specifics to this investigation because we’re three days in. And our goal right now is to solve this, this theft,” said the inspector.

He would not confirm if police suspect organized crime plants within the airport are responsible for the theft, saying only “our investigators have got their eyes open to all avenues.”

“As this is an active police investigation, we are unable to provide any comments regarding the matter at this time,” Jenn Bell, a spokeswoman for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, the operator of Pearson, told the Globe.

Duivesteyn said the public should not worry about the “rare event.”

“We want to solve it. I cannot provide exact details … what I can say is we feel this to be an isolated incident. For the public worried about flying out, there should be no concern. We do not consider this a threat to public safety,” he said.