One of the suspects in Canada’s largest gold heist has been sentenced to four years in prison, three years after 400 kilograms of gold vanished from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
Arslan Chaudhary, 44, pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000 and was sentenced April 9 in a Brampton courthouse. He also received a 40-year order to repay $22 million in restitution.
His sentence includes a credit of 174 days for time already served. Chaudhary was arrested earlier this year after landing at Pearson on a flight from Dubai — one of three suspects for whom Canada-wide warrants had been issued following the 2024 arrests.
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The heist took place on April 17, 2023, when a cargo shipment arriving from Zurich on an Air Canada flight was redirected from an airport warehouse. Thieves made off with 400 kilograms of gold and approximately $2.5 million in foreign currency, which was discovered missing the following morning.
Police believe the stolen gold was melted down and sold to fund illegal activities, including the purchase of firearms. Investigators recovered approximately one kilogram of gold, smelting equipment, and several hundred thousand dollars in currency — a recovery that barely scratched the surface of the $22 million taken.
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Nine people were arrested in April 2024 as part of Project 24K, a joint Canadian-US investigation. Several current and former Air Canada employees were among those charged. Two suspects remain at large, including a former Air Canada employee.
Peel Police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich called it the largest gold heist in Canadian history and the sixth-largest in world crime history.
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