Police arrest ‘top dog’ in Canada’s largest gold heist 

The mastermind of the $20-million (US$14.8-million then) gold theft at Toronto Pearson International Airport nearly three years ago turned himself into police this week after flying in from Dubai. 

Arsalan Chaudhary, 43, is the eighth to be arrested in the case involving an Air Canada flight from Switzerland carrying 400 kg of gold bars on April 17, 2023. Two other suspects are at large — one of them likely in India — and a third is awaiting sentencing on a firearms charge in the United States, according to police who are in contact with his lawyer. 

Most of the gold — which would be worth $82 million at Wednesday’s price — is gone, smelted down and smuggled out of the country. Chaudhary was the “top dog” who planned the theft, sold the gold and helped export it, according to the CBC, which cited Crown prosecution documents.  

The heist relied on Air Canada employees, including some of those arrested, to get access to the cargo in a warehouse beside the airport, while it’s alleged Chaudhary led another outside group. When The Northern Miner looked at the case in 2023 through the lens of gold security, insurance providers said almost all these types of thefts are inside jobs. 

Evidence

Police charged Chaudhary with theft of over $5,000, two counts of possession of property obtained by crime, and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence. They had already recovered $154,000 in cash and lists of how to allocate $9 million from where he lived, the CBC said. He’s linked through cell phones and hundreds of messages on the day of the caper to two other suspects, it added. 

Chaudhary is due in the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton on Wednesday.  

Investigators dubbed the case Project 24K and have laid more than 21 charges, working with the Philadelphia Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  

“Project 24K is a clear example of how our officers, working alongside national and international partners, can disrupt sophisticated criminal activity,” Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said in a statement. “No matter where you try to run or hide, we will find you.”