How the cops cracked the $24M Pearson gold heist

Peel Regional Police shared details of a gold heist investigation at Pearson Airport, saying nine people are facing charges in the largest gold heist in Canadian history. Photo: PRP.

By Analysis by The Big Story podcast

Posted April 19, 2024 5:28 am.

In today’s The Big Story podcast, this is one that even the police say will be a Netflix miniseries someday. On April 17, 2023, more than $20 million in gold was stolen from Pearson airport in Toronto. Nobody was hurt, and the crooks got away. 

Exactly one year later though, police announced arrests, including those of two Air Canada employees, making clear they believe it was at least partly an inside job.

Andy Takagi is a reporter for The Toronto Star who’s been covering the case. “It’s like an Ocean 11 heist, right? They show up, they act like they’re [supposed to be] there, and they drive off with 24 million estimated value of golden cash,” said Takagi. 

So how did the crooks pull off the initial caper? How did the cops catch them? What happened to the gold, and who will play whom in the adaptation?

You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google and Spotify. You can also find it at thebigstorypodcast.ca.
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