Pearson Airport Gold Heist Ringleader Pleads Guilty in Brampton Court

Arsalan Chaudhary, identified by Peel Regional Police as the ringleader of Canada's largest gold heist, pleaded guilty on March 24, 2026 in a Brampton courtroom, admitting his role in stealing approximately C$22.5 million in gold bars and foreign currency from Air Canada's cargo facility at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

On the evening of April 17, 2023, an air cargo container arrived at Pearson on a flight from Zurich, Switzerland, carrying 400 kilograms of .999-fine gold, the equivalent of roughly 6,600 gold bars valued at approximately C$20 million, along with about C$2.5 million in foreign currencies. A man driving a five-tonne delivery truck presented Air Canada staff with a forged air waybill, reportedly disguised as a manifest for farm-raised Scottish salmon. Staff loaded the container onto the truck using a forklift. The truck headed west on Highway 401 and vanished into a rural area north of Milton, Ontario.

The theft required help from inside Air Canada's cargo compound. Court documents and a CBC Fifth Estate investigation found that Simran Preet Panesar, a former Air Canada cargo manager from Brampton, had used the company's computer system to search for the incoming Zurich flight and track its movement, apparently feeding real-time intelligence to the outside crew. Panesar led police on a tour of the facility the day after the theft, then resigned from Air Canada that summer. A Canada-wide arrest warrant remains outstanding for Panesar, who is believed to be in India, where the Enforcement Directorate raided four locations linked to him but did not lay charges. A second Air Canada employee, warehouse worker Parmpal Sidhu, 54, of Brampton, was charged with theft over $5,000 and conspiracy.

Chaudhary fled Canada after the heist, becoming the subject of international coverage, before being arrested on January 12, 2026, when he landed at Pearson on a flight from Dubai. He was apprehended at the same airport where the theft had occurred nearly three years earlier. Court filings showed that a co-conspirator messaged him on WhatsApp the day after the heist: "I'm so happy for you Bro" and "I can't even sleep, lol." Chaudhary allegedly replied: "it's insane." Police found a handwritten debt list in his belongings tracking distributions of more than C$10.3 million to associates.

Ten individuals were identified in connection with the case. Among those charged: Amit Jalota, 40, of Oakville; Ammad Chaudhary, 43, of Georgetown; Ali Raza, 37, a Toronto jewelry store owner; and Prasath Paramalingam, who remains at large alongside Panesar. Nineteen charges were laid in total; six arrests were made in April 2024 and three Canada-wide warrants were issued.

Most of the gold has not been recovered. Police believe the bars were melted down to obscure their origin and seized smelting pots, casts, and molds as evidence. By 2024, investigators had recovered approximately C$430,000 in cash and roughly C$89,000 in gold jewelry. American security firm Brink's Global filed a civil lawsuit against Air Canada, alleging the airline negligently handed the shipment to an unauthorized individual on the strength of a forged document.

Chaudhary pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000 and still faces charges of conspiracy and possession of property obtained by crime. Prosecutors are seeking a seven-year prison term; the defence has argued for four. Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah called the plea "another significant step toward justice in this historic organized crime case, not only in Peel's history, but in Canada's." Sentencing has not been scheduled.