New details emerge about who was co-ordinating $20M shipment stolen in Toronto gold heist

CTV National News: New info in Toronto gold heist Brink's Inc. has filed a lawsuit against Air Canada after a thief made off with $20M in gold at Pearson. Heather Butts has more.

A private security and protection company was co-ordinating the shipment of $20 million worth of gold and high-value goods when they were stolen from Toronto Pearson International Airport.

The Brink’s Company, the corporation responsible for the transit of valuable goods, confirmed to CTV News on Monday they were “co-ordinating the shipments” 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, told CTV News Toronto in a statement on Monday afternoon.

“At Brink’s, if assets are lost at any point during transfer, we reimburse our customers in accordance with our contract terms.”

While Brink's was co-ordinating the shipment, a source told CTV News Toronto last week Air Canada was in possession of the goods when they were stolen. The goods arrived on an Air Canada flight earlier in the day, the source said.

Peel Regional Police said the aircraft with $20 million worth of valuable goods onboard arrived at Toronto Pearson Airport in the early evening and as per normal procedure, the cargo was unloaded and taken to a holding facility.

Inspector Stephen Duivesteyn said the cargo was removed by “illegal means” – a move experts say likely required insider knowledge.

The massive heist will have sparked a huge effort from Peel Regional Police investigators, who are trying to catch the perpetrators, said retired Mountie Bruce Pitt-Payne, who was with that force’s major crimes unit.

“They’re going to be putting out the feelers, shaking trees everywhere, to see what falls out, to see if possibly it was an inside job,” Pitt-Payne told CTV News Toronto.

“Whoever did this crime learned information from someone in the know,” he said.

Meanwhile, gold retailers and recyclers are now on the lookout for the millions in gold that the thieves could try to sell.

“If a $20 million hit comes in the front door, serious red flags are going to come up,” said Michael Gupton of KMG Gold Recycling.

Russell Oliver of Oliver’s Jewellery, said he wouldn’t accept the gold — and would call the authorities.

But, he said, gold is an element and so it can be melted down easily, making it hard to determine the origin of any given piece.

“If they’ve changed the form it’s absolutely impossible to trace,” he said. “By now, they could have done anything with it.”

But the huge challenge of selling that amount of gold in small chunks means the circle of people involved in this audacious theft could grow and that could provide police the source of information they need.

“This will be solved by information coming in. That’s how all the big crimes are solved,” Pitt-Payne said.

With files from CTV News reporter Heather Butts.