Toronto airport heist: Private security company was coordinating shipment of $20M container

A private security and protection company was coordinating the shipment of the $20 million container of gold and other high value items that was reported stolen from Toronto Pearson International Airport last week.

In a statement emailed to Global News on Tuesday, a spokesperson for The Brinks Company confirmed it was “coordinating the shipment” on April 17.

“We continue to work with law enforcement officials on their investigation,” Dana Callahan, vice president of corporate communications at The Brink’s Company said in the statement.

Callahan said if assets are lost at “any point during transfer, we reimburse our customers in accordance with our contract terms.”

On Thursday, Peel Regional Police announced the force was investigating after the shipping container worth roughly $20 million in gold and other high-value items vanished from a cargo holding facility at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.

Peel Regional Police  Insp. Stephen Duivesteyn told reporters that an aircraft landed at the airport on the evening of April 17.

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Duivesteyn said cargo from the plane, including the container was transported to a holding facility.

He said the “high value” container was then removed “by illegal means” from the facility.

According to Duivesteyn, the cargo was then reported missing to the force.

1:38 Container with $20M in gold, ‘high value’ items stolen in Pearson airport heist

A police source told Global News on Friday that it was “Air Canada cargo” that was handling the gold and other valuables. In a statement, Air Canada said it had no information to provide on the situation.

Duivesteyn confirmed the container contained gold and other items of value.

He said the investigation remained ongoing, but said the force believes it is an “isolated incident.”

Meanwhile, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority told Global News it was aware of the theft.

The GTAA said the “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,” a statement from the GTAA read.