The Canadian police arrested several people accused of stealing thousands of gold bars, valued at more than 20 million Canadian dollars (14 million dollars), in what authorities say is the largest gold heist in the country's history.

Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah told reporters on Wednesday that "the theft that occurred last year at a facility at Toronto Pearson International Airport was orchestrated by a well-organized group of criminals. This story is thrilling, and we jokingly say it belongs in a Netflix series or something bigger than that."

He added, "This particular theft has now become the largest gold heist in Canadian history, and it is one of the largest gold thefts in North America, and the sixth largest crime in the history of global crime."

In a post on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, Duraiappah stated, "Six suspects have been charged, three arrest warrants have been issued, with more than 19 charges laid."

On Wednesday, the police announced the names of nine suspects in the theft and provided details of the charges they face.

Brampton Regional Investigator Sergeant Mike Mavety said, "We believe they melted the gold and used its value to purchase illegal firearms."

The operation “24 Karat”

The police named the operation "24 Karat," and conducted searches at 225 businesses and residences in the area to obtain video footage, and interviewed 50 people.

The police stated that five of the suspects were arrested in Canada and released on bail pending trial, while an additional suspect was apprehended in Pennsylvania with 65 illegal firearms in his possession, and this person remains detained in the United States.

Canada-wide arrest warrants have been issued for the remaining three suspects, including two employees of Air Canada and a jewelry store owner, along with the alleged driver.

Following the arrest of the suspects, Air Canada announced that it had suspended one employee from the cargo department accused of the theft, while the other, who worked in the same department at the time of the theft, had left the airline before the charges were announced.

The company added in a statement, "As this matter is now before the courts, we will not be able to comment further."

Authorities stated that they believe some of the suspects are also involved in illegal firearms trafficking.

The police added that they seized 430,000 Canadian dollars (312,000 dollars) believed to be profits from selling the gold, along with six gold bracelets "in raw form" estimated to be worth about 89,000 Canadian dollars (65,000 dollars), and they are still searching for the rest of the gold.

The night of the gold heist

On the evening of April 17, 2023, a Brinks company, an American cash handling firm, arrived at the airport's cargo facility to collect the gold, but was informed that the gold and currency were missing after a search.

According to authorities, the stolen gold was initially unloaded from a plane and securely stored in a cargo hold facility.

After two and a half hours, a man driving a truck arrived at the airline's cargo dock with a forged air waybill to claim the shipment, and indeed received it and escaped after presenting a fake document.

The shipment included 6,600 gold bars weighing 419 kilograms, coming from a refinery in Switzerland, along with 2.5 million Canadian dollars (1.8 million dollars) in foreign banknotes, from a facility affiliated with Air Canada.

In federal court, Brinks alleges breach of contract and seeks millions in damages, based on the fact that "an unidentified person managed to access the airline's cargo warehouse and presented a fraudulent waybill shortly after Air Canada's flight from Zurich landed at Pearson."

It is noted that gold extracted from the country is often kept at Pearson Airport before being flown abroad, as nearly half of Canada's air cargo passes through this airport.

This heist is one of the largest thefts in Canadian history, including the theft of maple syrup made from sap from maple trees in 2011 and 2012.

The thieves stole 9,600 barrels of maple syrup from a warehouse near Quebec, which is its largest producer, valued between 15 and 20 million dollars.