Police of Ontario region have identified and charged or issued warrants for nine individuals (most of them South Asian men) and one of them an employee of Air Canada, involved in stealing of over 20 million dollars gold that came in a cargo from Zurich, Switzerland.
The police informed that on April 17, 2023, at 3:56 p.m. a flight landed at Pearson International Airport from Zurich, Switzerland, with a cargo containing 6600 bars of .9999% pure gold, weighing 400 kilograms, valued at over 20 million dollars and CAD 2.5 million worth in foreign currency. Shortly after landing, it was offloaded and transported to a separate location on Airport property.
On April 18, 2023 at 2:43 a.m., the cargo was reported missing to Peel Regional Police. The Police started the investigation, that crossed borders.
Philadelphia Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) arrested one individual in the United States who had 65 illegal firearms in his possession, two of which had been modified to have fully automatic capabilities. Five of the 65 handguns are known as ‘ghost guns,’ meaning that they were not serialized and, therefore, are untraceable.
Parmpal Sidhu, a 54-year-old man from Brampton and an Air Canada employee with theft Over $5000 and conspiracy to Commit Indictable Offence. Amit Jalota, a 40-year-old man from Oakville; Ammad Chaudhary, a 43-year-old man from Georgetown; Ali Raza, a 37-year-old man from Toronto; Prasath Paramalingam, a 35-year-old man from Brampton have been arrested and charged. These individuals have been released on conditions and will appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton at a later date.
Apart from this Canada-wide warrants have been issued for Simran Preet Panesar, a 31-year-old man from Brampton, a former Air Canada employee; Archit Grover; and Arsalan Chaudhary. Investigators have urged these individuals to seek legal counsel and turn themselves into the police.
A Warrant in the 1st has been issued for Durante King-Mclean, a 25-year-old man from Brampton. He is currently in custody in the United States on firearms trafficking-related charges, and investigators have been in touch with him and his legal counsel.
“Our investigators and entire service recognized the heightened interest and impact this incident had in our community. We immediately deployed the necessary resources to address and ensure arrests are made in this complex and multi-faceted investigation that crossed international borders. I commend the incredible work done by our investigators, the ATF, other law enforcement partners, and our community for working together to identify and arrest those responsible for this brazen crime,” said Nishan Duraiappah, Peel Regional Police Chief.
Investigators are urging anyone with information about this incident to call Peel Regional Police.
Information may also be left anonymously by calling Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or visiting www.peelcrimestoppers.ca.
