Where would you hide a cargo container that has CAD 20 million ($20 million) worth of gold and other high-value items?
That’s what the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) have been trying to find ever since an air cargo container carrying more than CAD 20 million ($20 million) in gold and other valuables disappeared from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport (YYZ) on April 17, 2023.
Speaking to local media at a news conference in Mississauga, Ontario, Peel Regional Police Inspector Stephen Duivesteyn said that this type of heist is “very rare.”
“On Monday, April 17th, 2023, an aircraft arrived at the airport in the early evening. As per normal procedure, the aircraft was unloaded and cargo was transferred from the aircraft to a holding cargo facility,” Duivesteyn said.
“Once the cargo was offloaded at a holding facility, subsequent to its arrival, this high-value container was removed by illegal means from the facility. The container contained a high-value shipment. It did contain gold, but was not exclusive to gold and contained other items of monetary value. We feel this to be an isolated incident,” Duivesteyn further said.
According to CBC Canada, no arrests have yet been made in connection with the heist and no possible suspects have been publicly identified by police.
Toronto Airport remains open and there were no disruptions to commercial and other cargo flights.
Police have not disclosed what airline carried the cargo container, the origin of the container, and where it was headed to. Local media CTV News, however, reported that the airline was Air Canada, citing a source familiar to the investigation.