Peel police have arrested a 36-year-old Brampton man in connection with the heist of nearly $24 million in gold and cash from Toronto Pearson International Airport a year ago.
In a news release Thursday, police say they arrested Archit Grover earlier this week at Pearson, after he flew in from India.
He’s been charged with theft over $5,000 and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence. He was held for a bail hearing in Brampton. Police say he is also being indicted in the United States for firearm-related charges.
About 400 kilograms of pure gold, worth roughly $20 million CAD, and about $2.5 million in various foreign currencies were stolen from the cargo compound on the evening of April 17, 2023, shortly after arriving on a flight from Zurich. Police called it the largest gold theft in Canadian history.
Police have arrested multiple people and laid 19 charges in relation to a multimillion-dollar gold heist at Pearson airport last year. Peel police Det.-Sgt. Mike Mavity said the suspect gained access to an Air Canada storage facility using an airway bill — a document typically issued by a carrier with details on the shipment — for a shipment of seafood picked up a day prior.
The stolen gold and foreign currency were ordered from a refinery in Zurich, Switzerland, and were transported in the hull of an Air Canada flight to Toronto.
The gold and currency were later loaded on a suspect’s truck after he presented a fraudulent airway bill to warehouse employees who loaded the shipment onto his truck, police said.
Last month, police announced five people had been arrested and charged in connection with the heist. Their joint investigation with the Philadelphia Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also helped lead to the interception of a “large quantity of firearms” destined for Canada, they added.
Police looking for 2 more suspects
In total, police say nine suspects have been implicated in the investigation. Investigators are still looking for two other men in connection with the heist, and have issued Canada-wide warrants for their arrests.
Simran Preet Panesar, a 31-year-old man from Brampton, a former Air Canada employee who was employed there at the time of the theft, is wanted for similar charges.
Police have previously said Panesar worked as a manager and led police on “a tour” of the cargo facility after the theft, then resigned from Air Canada last summer.
They’re also looking for Arsalan Chaudhary, a 42-year-old man of no fixed address. He’s wanted for similar charges, along with allegedly possessing property obtained by crime.
“Investigators urge these individuals to seek legal counsel and turn themselves into the police,” the news release said.
One other suspect, 25-year-old Brampton man Durante King-Mclean, is currently in custody in the United States for charges related to firearms trafficking. Investigators have been in touch with him and his legal counsel, police added, but have also issued a warrant for his arrest.
Peel police say they’re working with their American counterparts on this case and “have continued to make significant progress in the investigation.”
Source Agencies
