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(Kitco News) Canadian police are searching for $15 million (CAD $20 million) worth of gold and other high-value items stolen from Toronto Pearson International Airport's cargo facility.
The heist happened on Monday, April 17, marking one of Canada's biggest robberies.
Police said the incident occurred in a cargo holding facility, where the aircraft container was delivered after arriving at the airport.
The missing container is five sq ft, filled with gold and other items of monetary value, according to police.
"Once this cargo was offloaded at a holding facility, subsequent to its arrival, this high-value container was removed by illegal means," Peel Regional Police inspector Stephen Duivesteyn said during a press conference Thursday. "Our goal is to solve this theft … I cannot provide exact details… what I can say is we feel this to be an isolated incident. For the public worried about flying out, there should be no concern. We do not consider this a threat to public safety."
Police are not revealing any information regarding which airline was responsible for shipping the cargo, where it was going, and where it came from. But Toronto Pearson Airport is often used for transporting gold mined in Canada to global buyers.
"We're three days in, so our investigators have their eyes open to all avenues," Duivesteyn said. "We're kind of keeping a broad outlook on it, so we're looking on all angles on how this item was stolen."
Some Canadian media outlets, including CTV News, reported that Air Canada was in charge of the cargo transport, citing sources familiar with the investigation.
This was also not the first big Canadian airport heist. In 1974, $517,000 (CAD $700,000) worth of gold bars were stolen from the Ottawa International Airport. At the time, the Globe and Mail reported that a suspect changed into an Air Canada uniform and forced a security guard at gunpoint to let other robbers in to gain access to the gold.
