Police raided three residences in the GTA Thursday and charged five people in connection with an investigation into the fraudulent purchase of gold, but failed to recover any of the 95 missing gold bars, worth almost $2-million.
The arrests were the result of a series of search warrants executed in Pickering and Toronto. One of the targets of the search was a residence at 126 Mount Pleasant Rd. in Rosedale, Det. Sgt. Cameron Field of the Financial Crimes Unit, told media on Friday.
Police launched an investigation on February 12 after a “fraudulently-obtained bank draft” worth $1.8-million was allegedly used to purchase 75 unique 10-ounce gold bars in Montreal. The bars bear the Australia Perth Mint symbol on the front, and kangaroos on the back. Police previously recovered one of the 10-ounce gold bars. They are also looking for nineteen one-kilogram gold bars and two 100-gram bars.
Four men and one woman face a total 14 charges. Police charged Siva Suthakaran, 45; Raffi Ebrekdjian, 51; and Garnet Marziliano, 29, all residents of Toronto. Police also charged Natasha Sukh, 29, of Ajax and Remy Boghossian, 44, of Pickering. The five suspects face various charges, including fraud over $5,000, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and possession of property obtained by crime. Mr. Ebrekdjian has also been charged with possession of heroin. Police released all of the suspects Thursday and they are scheduled to appear in court June 9.
“Without getting into the evidence, as it is still an ongoing investigation, we believe they are all involved in a conspiracy to get the gold bars, in the manner we suggested, using as a vehicle the stolen bank draft,” Det. Sgt. Field said.
At this point, the vast majority of those arrested are not known to police. Police investigated the suspects after receiving information from the public. Det. Sgt. Field said the gold bars are “very unique and rare in North America.”
“Members of the public, working in the jewellery and metal industry, are being advised of the possibility that persons may attempt to pass these fraudulently obtained gold bars at their place of business,” Det. Sgt. Field said. “This is stolen property.”
The Canadian Bankers Association is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for any public information that leads to the arrest, conviction, and recovery of the gold bars.
On March 2, police charged Senthuran Kanapathipillai, 32, and Thevarajah Thambipillai, 55, with possession of property obtained by crime, after Mr. Thambipillai allegedly attempted to sell one of the gold bars to a Toronto gold company on Feb. 16.
Det. Sgt. Field said that at this time they do not know where the remaining gold bars are, and cannot guarantee that they have not been melted down, or otherwise altered.
“Our investigation is still ongoing, and we do anticipate arrests in the future,” Det. Sgt. Field said. “We definitely know the gold is out there. We do not know where the gold is.”
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