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Two suspects remain on the run nearly three years after the infamous gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport, police say.
To date, nine individuals have been charged or are wanted, and more than 21 charges have been laid after more than $20 million in gold and $2.5 million in cash was stolen from Pearson in April 2023.
A Peel Regional Police spokesperson told Global News in an email Thursday that 33-year-old Simran Preet Panesar and 36-year-old Prasath Paramalingam are still wanted.
Panesar, a former Air Canada employee who is believed to be in India, is wanted on charges of theft over $5,000 and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence. Paramalingam, a Brampton, Ont., resident, is wanted on a bench warrant after failing to appear in court on Aug. 19, 2024.
Police arrested the majority of the suspects a year after the heist unfolded. Arsalan Chaudhary, 44, who was arrested this January at Pearson after arriving on a flight from Dubai, was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday and ordered to repay $22 million.
The April 17, 2023, heist, which made international headlines at the time, involved 6,600 gold bars and cash stolen from Pearson.
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The gold and currency were ordered from a refinery in Zurich, Switzerland, and were transported in a container through an Air Canada flight that landed in Toronto.
That flight landed at 3:56 p.m. The cargo was then offloaded from the plane to an Air Canada cargo facility at 6:32 p.m.
Police alleged a suspect arrived at the facility with a “fraudulent airway bill” and gave it to an attendant.
A short time later, a forklift arrived with a container of gold and foreign currency, which was loaded into the rear of the suspect’s truck.
At around 9:30 p.m., Brink’s Canada employees went to the Air Canada cargo site to pick up the shipment of gold and currency. Police were contacted the following day and an investigation was launched.
Video surveillance obtained by officers showed that the truck drove west into Halton Region to the north of Milton, Ont. That region is more rural, and eventually the truck was lost.
On April 17, 2024, police announced that 37 search warrants were issued, along with 70 production orders. Officers seized $430,000 in Canadian currency during the search warrants.
Also seized were six crudely made gold bracelets resembling bangles that were sent off for expert examination. They were pure gold and the total value was more than $89,000.
In addition, officers seized smelting pots, casts and moulds. The truck allegedly used to steal the gold and cash was also seized by police.
The investigation into the theft remains ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police.
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