At least $20 million Canadian (more than $14.8 million) worth of gold and other valuables were inside the container that was taken from Toronto Pearson Airport on Monday.
Peel Regional Police inspector Stephen Duivesteyn told reporters on Thursday that the police had reported that the shipment had arrived in an aeroplane in the early hours of the evening.
The container was subsequently unloaded and moved to a holding facility in accordance with the airport’s regular practises for aviation cargo, according to CBS News.
The almost five-square-foot container was “removed by illegal means” at some point after that and was reported missing to the police not long after.
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“The container contained a high-value shipment. It did contain gold, but was not exclusive to gold, and contained other items of monetary value,” Duivesteyn said.
Police were unable to confirm the cargo’s final destination, nor if the theft was connected to prearranged crime or professional thieves. They also were not sure if the gold is still in the country.
Inspector Duivesteyn stressed that while this category of the heist is “very rare,” it was an isolated incident that poses no ongoing threat to public safety, adding that operations at Pearson would continue to run normally.
“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,” the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, which operates Pearson, said in a statement to CBS News.
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