NP: New details about $20M Toronto airport gold heist revealed in Brink's suit against Air Canada

[China]

New details about $20M Toronto airport gold heist revealed in Brink's suit against Air Canada

 

The shock Toronto airport heist of $20 million in gold bars — weighing 400.19 kilograms — along with US$2 million in cash was as easy as walking into Air Canada’s cargo facility, showing a false waybill, and leaving with the enormous haul, according to a lawsuit filed in court.

 

It was gone 42 minutes after it was unloaded from a plane arriving from Switzerland and transferred to a supposedly secure warehouse on the periphery of Toronto’s Pearson airport, according to the statement of claim.

The theft, one of the largest in Canadian history, remains unsolved by police. Brink’s, a secure transport company, is now suing Air Canada over the lost loads.

 

In April, a Swiss bank called Raiffeisen Schweiz, hired Brink’s to transport cash — banknotes with a value of US$1,945,843, weighing 53.18 kilos — from Zurich to Toronto, according to Brink’s statement of claim.

 

The money, declared as “BANKNOTES”, was being shipped to the Vancouver Bullion and Currency Exchange, according to the lawsuit.

 

Around the same time, Valcambi SA, a precious metals refining company in Switzerland, hired Brink’s to transport 400.19 kilos of gold — valued at more than $20.4 million — to Toronto.

The gold, declared as “GOLDBARS”, was being sent to the Toronto Dominion Bank in Toronto, the suit says.

 

The two shipments were combined into one air cargo container about the size of a large office desk.

 

The plane landed at Toronto’s Pearson airport around 4:20 p.m. The shipping container was unloaded and moved to an Air Canada bonded warehouse at the edge of the airport at about 5:50 p.m., the lawsuit claims.

 

“At approximately (6:32 p.m.), an unidentified individual gained access to AC’s cargo storage facilities. No security protocols or features were in place to monitor, restrict or otherwise regulate the unidentified individual’s access to the facilities,” the lawsuit claims.

 

“Once inside, the unidentified individual presented to AC personnel the copy of an airway bill respecting an unrelated shipment.

 

“Upon receipt of the Fraudulent Waybill, AC personnel released the Shipments to the unidentified individual, following which the unidentified individual absconded with the cargo,” the lawsuit claims.

 

The lawsuit claims Air Canada failed to offer “storing facilities equipped with effective vaults and cages, constant CCTV surveillance and active human surveillance patrols.”

 

The suit also claims Air Canada failed to: sufficiently secure software/hardware systems to prevent unauthorized transactions; ensure employee credentials are not susceptible to fraud or misuse; verify the trustworthiness and proper training of personnel with access to high-value shipments.

 

Brink’s claims damages of 13.6 million Swiss Francs, representing the declared value of the missing gold, and US$1,945,843, the value of the missing money.

 

Brink’s also seeks special damages of an unspecified amount and costs of the legal action.

 

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