An Ontario man has been found guilty of smuggling gold from the Royal Canadian Mint by hiding it up his rectum.
Leston Lawrence, 38, of Barrhaven, Ont., was on trial for allegedly stealing more than $130,000 worth of gold pucks from the Royal Canadian Mint and trading the pucks for cash at a store in an Ottawa mall.
Court documents alleged Lawrence, a former Royal Canadian Mint employee, carried out the inside job by smuggling the pucks hidden in his rear-end.
During the trial, the Crown alleged Lawrence tried to leave the Mint with the stolen gold hidden up his rectum on more than one occasion.
Alarms sounded each time Lawrence attempted to pass through a security checkpoint, the Crown alleged, but a pat-down by security guards failed to uncover the gold pucks.
Lawrence allegedly sold the precious metal at a cash-for-gold store in Ottawa and then cashed the cheques at a nearby bank.
During the trial, court was told a bank teller reported the unusual transactions to police.
Lawrence was later charged with five criminal offences, including possession of property obtained by crime and breach of trust by a public official. This week, he was found guilty of all five charges.
