In a bold criminal operation, nearly 400 kilograms of pure gold bullion bars were stolen from an Air Canada cargo warehouse shortly after arriving from Switzerland. The gold was part of a heist at Toronto Airport and was later transformed into untraceable jewelry pieces. Detectives found the stolen gold had been melted down in the basement of a local jewelry store equipped with a forge specifically designed for metalworking. The operation involved melting the gold into thin strips and shaping it into bracelets using various tools such as an oxy-acetylene torch, crucibles, tongs, and molds.
The Peel Regional Police’s Project 24K task force made surprising arrests on the anniversary of the heist, indicating that the jewelry store’s basement was a critical location in the scheme. The forge in the basement was allegedly used to convert traceable gold bars into unmarked jewelry, making the gold nearly impossible to trace back to its original form.
A crucial piece of evidence was a fingerprint left on paperwork during the fraudulent pickup of the gold. This fingerprint led to the identification of the driver involved in the heist. Additionally, police techniques and investigations pointed to the basement forge as the site where the gold was melted down.
Although only a fraction of the stolen gold has been recovered—specifically, six bracelets worth about $90,000—the case sheds light on the methods used by criminals to launder stolen goods. Gold’s properties allow it to be easily melted down and sold, which makes it a favored target for theft. The ongoing investigation suggests that some of the gold may have already been distributed in international markets.
This case highlights the challenges law enforcement faces in tracking and recovering materials like gold, which can be easily melted down and hidden in plain sight as everyday items. The sophisticated nature of this heist also underscores the lengths to which criminals will go to disguise their activities and launder their proceeds.