A 31-year-old Indian-origin former Air Canada manager wanted in connection with Canada’s largest gold and cash heist worth CAD 22.5 million is preparing to surrender in the next few weeks, his lawyer has confirmed, according to a report on Saturday.
Background on the Heist
Simran Preet Panesar, wanted in the brazen multimillion-dollar gold heist at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport last year, is “very confident in the Canadian justice system,” his lawyer, Greg Lafontaine said in a statement to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) News.
According to the police, the heist took place on April 17, 2023, when an air cargo container carrying more than 22 million Canadian dollars worth of gold bars and foreign currency was stolen from a secure storage facility using fake paperwork.
The stolen cargo contained 6,600 bars of .9999 pure gold, weighing 400 kilograms, valued at over 20 million dollars and Canadian dollars 2.5 million worth in foreign currency.
Legal Proceedings
Police have already arrested six people involved in the theft, including individuals of Indian descent. Canada-wide warrants were issued for Panesar, who was also an Air Canada employee at the time of the robbery.
Lafontaine stated that Panesar is currently preparing to return to Canada voluntarily in the coming weeks to prove his innocence. He emphasized that Panesar is confident in the Canadian justice system and is keen to clear his name in the case.
It is interesting to note that on May 6, 2024, another Indian-origin individual, Archit Grover, was arrested at the airport in Toronto upon arriving from India in connection with the heist.
Subsequent Arrests
In April, two other persons of Indian origin – Parmpal Sidhu, 54, and Amit Jalota, 40 — both from Ontario, were arrested in connection with the case along with Ammad Chaudhary, 43, Ali Raza, 37, and Prasath Paramalingam, 35. Peel Regional Police is actively pursuing leads to apprehend the remaining suspects.
The police previously seized one kilogram of gold worth approximately Canadian dollars 89,000, believed to be linked to the theft, along with smelting equipment and about 434,000 dollars in Canadian currency.
