Authorities in India question suspect in Pearson gold heist following Fifth Estate investigation
CBC
Authorities in India, acting on information first reported by The Fifth Estate, have raided a home and questioned a key suspect wanted in connection with the theft of gold worth more than $20 million Cdn from Toronto's Pearson airport.
Officials from India's Enforcement Directorate, which handles economic crimes and money laundering, visited an apartment rented by Simran Preet Panesar on Friday morning, according to local journalists.
Police in Canada say Panesar is a main figure in the theft of the gold from the Air Canada Cargo facility at the airport in April 2023. It is the largest gold heist in Canadian history.
Last week, The Fifth Estate revealed that Panesar, who resigned from Air Canada three months after the robbery, was living in an apartment on the outskirts of Chandigarh, in northern India.
"Our teams have reached [Preet Panesar's] residence and are in the process of questioning him," a senior Enforcement Directorate official told The Indian Express newspaper, which teamed up with The Fifth Estate on the investigation.
Peel Regional Police confirmed to CBC News on Friday that the Enforcement Directorate searched Panesar's apartment but did not arrest him.
The lead detective in the gold heist case credited The Fifth Estate with helping advance the investigation.
"We appreciate The Fifth Estate's investigative journalism in locating him there, because without that assistance, I don't think any of this would have been brought to light," said Det.-Sgt. Mike Mavity.
He said there is a meeting scheduled between Peel police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the coming week to discuss the case.
"This has started conversations with the ED and Peel Regional Police regarding Simran Preet Panesar and hopefully, eventually will lead to apprehending him," Mavity said.
"This has opened up some doors for us, which is fantastic."
The Fifth Estate obtained an internal Crown document that alleges Panesar was the inside man and crucial to the heist that saw thieves take 6,600 bars of gold, weighing 400 kilograms, without any guns or violence.
According to the Crown's allegations, of the nine men charged, only Panesar had "the necessary access to search incoming high-value shipments."
The Crown document says Air Canada analyzed its computers after the robbery and found that Panesar searched the system for the incoming flight containing the gold and tracked its movement. Once the plane landed, they say he began tracking the container holding the gold.
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Authorities in India, acting on information first reported by The Fifth Estate, have raided a home and questioned a key suspect wanted in connection with the theft of gold worth more than $20 million Cdn from Toronto's Pearson airport.
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