Current:Home > Contact-usCanadian police charge 9 suspects in historic $20 million airport gold heist-LoTradeCoin
Canadian police charge 9 suspects in historic $20 million airport gold heist
View Date:2024-12-23 21:17:18
One year after a brazen gold heist at the Toronto airport, nine suspects have been charged in an investigation police said "belongs in a Netflix series."
In total, 6,600 gold bars weighing over 800 pounds, worth an estimated $20 million, and about $2.5 million in foreign currencies were stolen from Toronto Pearson International Airport in April 2023. At the time, police described the case as "very rare." Now they call it the largest gold heist in Canadian history.
In a news conference Wednesday, police said 19 charges had been laid in the joint investigation — dubbed Project 24K — involving Peel Police and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Five suspects, including an Air Canada employee, were arrested then released with conditions and will appear in court at a later date. A warrant was issued for another man who was also an employee of the airline at the time of the theft. In addition to the warrant for the former employee, two more Canada-wide warrants were issued for those not yet apprehended.
Police said the gold arrived on an afternoon flight from Zurich, Switzerland, on April 17, 2023. The container with the valuable shipment was then taken from the Air Canada plane and brought to a cargo facility. One of the suspects was able to gain entry to the facility, load the items onto a delivery truck and drive away. Police said the driver presented a fraudulent airway bill, a document with details on a shipment.
Later in the evening, Brink's Canada, the company hired to transport the gold, arrived to collect the shipment and found that it had already been taken. Brink's sued Air Canada in October, saying the airline failed to properly secure the cargo, according to The Toronto Star newspaper.
Police said the driver of the truck was identified as 25-year-old Durante King-McLean, who is in custody in the United States. He was arrested in Pennsylvania in September after state troopers found 65 firearms in his rental vehicle.
"We are alleging that some individuals who participated in this gold theft are also involved in aspects of firearms trafficking," lead investigator Det.-Sgt. Mike Mavity said.
Police seized six crudely made gold bracelets during the investigation, valued at around $89,000. Mavity said smelting equipment, used to melt down the stolen gold bars to disguise them as items like bracelets, was also seized. A jewelry store owner is among those arrested.
The theft was bigger than a 1990 heist at Montreal's Dorval Airport that netted $13.7 million in gold and other valuables.
- In:
- Toronto
- Canada
veryGood! (5639)
Related
- Georgia House Democrats shift toward new leaders after limited election gains
- Photos of Christmas 2023 around the world
- New Mexico proposes regulations to reuse fracking wastewater
- Von Miller speaks for first time since arrest, says nothing that was alleged was true
- 2 striking teacher unions in Massachusetts face growing fines for refusing to return to classroom
- Cher files for conservatorship of her son, claims Elijah Blue Allman's life is 'at risk'
- New lawsuit claims Jermaine Jackson sexually assaulted woman, Berry Gordy assisted in 'cover-up'
- The New York Times is suing OpenAI over copyright breaches, here's what you need to know
- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had a stroke earlier this month, is expected to make full recovery
- China appoints a new defense minister after months of uncertainty following sacking of predecessor
Ranking
- The Best Gifts for Men – That He Won’t Want to Return
- Pistons match longest losing streak in NBA history at 28 games, falling 128-122 to Boston in OT
- Russian poet receives 7-year prison sentence for reciting verses against war in Ukraine
- Israel bombs refugee camps in central Gaza, residents say, as Netanyahu repeats insistence that Hamas be destroyed
- Report: Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence could miss rest of season with shoulder injury
- When to take your Christmas tree down, and how to dispose of it
- Ruby Franke's former business partner Jodi Hildebrandt pleads guilty to child abuse
- Billions of pounds of microplastics are entering the oceans every year. Researchers are trying to understand their impact.
Recommendation
-
Patrick Mahomes Breaks Silence on Frustrating Robbery Amid Ongoing Investigation
-
Rare southern white rhinoceros born on Christmas Eve at Zoo Atlanta
-
The Air Force said its nuclear missile capsules were safe. But toxins lurked, documents show
-
You Might've Missed This How the Grinch Stole Christmas Editing Error
-
Inside Dream Kardashian's Sporty 8th Birthday Party
-
Biden administration hands Louisiana new power to expand carbon capture projects
-
This week on Sunday Morning (December 31)
-
2023 in science: AI, the hottest year on record, and galactic controversy