Unscheduled Departure from Canada’s Busiest Airport

A container stocked with an estimated $15-million worth of gold and "other items of monetary value" has been purloined, filched, burgled, and otherwise peculated from a cargo facility on Toronto’s Pearson International Airport (YYZ).

The crime was carried out on Monday, 17 April 2023 in the hours following the unloading of the aircraft by which the loot was delivered to Toronto. The YYZ Airport management was quick to point out subject aircraft, at the time of the theft, was parked at a cargo depot away from the airport’s passenger terminals.

In a statement to news outlets, the Toronto Pearson Airport set forth: "The Greater Toronto Airports Authority is aware of the theft that took place this week. The GTAA wishes to clarify that thieves accessed the public side of a warehouse that is leased to a third party, outside of our primary security line. This did not involve access to Toronto Pearson itself and did not pose a threat to passengers or GTAA staff."

Peel Regional Police Inspector Stephen Duivesteyn stated on Thursday, 20 April: "On Monday, April 17, 2023, an aircraft arrived here at the airport in the early evening. As per normal procedure, the aircraft was unloaded and cargo was transported from the aircraft to a holding cargo facility.”

Inspector Duivesteyn continued: "Once this cargo was offloaded at a holding facility, subsequent to its arrival, this high value container was removed by illegal means from the holding facility. This cargo was reported missing to the Peel Regional Police a short time later and an investigation has commenced."

Duivesteyn reported authorities estimate the value of the missing container’s contents to be $15-million.

As of Friday, 21 April, the container’s whereabouts remain unknown and neither arrests nor persons of interest have been made.

Notwithstanding an admission that his department has yet to determine whether the heist was perpetrated by professionals or amateurs, Inspector Duivesteyn blustered: “Our investigators have their eyes open to all avenues.”

FMI: www.torontopearson.com