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MANDEL: Pearson gold heist mastermind sentenced to just four years in jail
Ontario Court Justice Shannon McPherson also ordered Arsalan Chaudhary, 44, to pay back $22 million to Brinks
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One of the key masterminds behind Canada’s largest gold heist — the brazen theft of $22.5 million in gold and cash from Toronto’s Pearson airport three years ago — has been sentenced to just four years behind bars.
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Less credit for pre-sentence custody, the relieved Arsalan Chaudhary has just 42 months left to serve. But that’s not the entirety of his sentence: Ontario Court Justice Shannon McPherson ordered the 44-year-old to pay back $22 million to Brinks — a restitution order that will stand for 40 years.
MANDEL: Pearson gold heist mastermind sentenced to just four years in jail Back to video
“I find that Mr. Chaudhary was one of the organizers of the theft: He communicated with Air Canada employees to identify the shipment carrying the gold; together with others, he arranged for a driver to collect and transport it. Mr. Chaudhary travelled to the location where the gold was taken after the theft and then took possession of some of it. Mr. Chaudhary assisted in making the arrangements to have the gold melted down by a jeweller to disguise its origin and facilitated its sale,” she said, reading her decision Wednesday afternoon.
“The distribution list seized from Mr. Chaudhary’s residence, though informal and rough in appearance, indicates that he was entrusted with responsibility for the distribution of the proceeds. The document suggests that he controlled approximately $10,023,000 worth of it — representing nearly half of the total value of the theft. Responsibility for distribution reflects a position of trust and authority within the group. It places Mr. Chaudhary at a high level of operational responsibility among the participants.”
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Gold remains unaccounted for
Virtually all of the gold, the judge said, remains unaccounted for.
But the Brampton judge rejected the Crown’s request to impose a seven-year sentence, finding Chaudhary’s decision to return a few months ago and turn himself in despite having fled to Dubai, a country with no extradition treaty with Canada, was an “exceptional” decision that merited a lighter sentence.
“In practical terms, there was no available mechanism to compel his return and he was beyond the reach of the Canadian criminal justice system in those circumstances,” McPherson said.
“He made the deliberate decision to return to Canada to face the consequences of his actions. He contacted police, advised them of his travel plans and surrendered himself upon arrival at Pearson International Airport. This was not the result of legal pressure, inevitability or deteriorating circumstances. It was a conscious submission to Canadian jurisdiction in circumstances where he could have remained abroad indefinitely without facing trial.”
Chaudhary also pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and provided a detailed statement of facts, she said, that may help in the prosecution of his co-accused — including his brother.
‘Staggering magnitude’ to theft
Sentencing Chaudhary was uncharted waters with no case quite like it.
“This case has been described as the largest gold heist in Canada,” McPherson said. “The theft before the court was of a staggering magnitude.”
On April 17, 2023, a cargo container with 400 kg of 99.99% pure gold and mixed foreign currency arrived at Pearson on a flight from Zurich. The contents of the container were valued at $22.5 million and Brinks employed Airside Services to escort the high-value load from the airplane to the bonded Air Canada cargo facility at 2580 Britannia Rd. E. in Mississauga.
According to the agreed statement of facts, Chaudhary’s driver drove to the warehouse at 6:30 p.m., presented a fake airway bill and loaded the container into his tractor trailer. “The airway bill had been crudely altered, including with handwritten entries added in prominent areas where such information would not ordinarily appear,” McPherson noted in her ruling.
“That the scheme succeeded speaks more to failures in security than to criminal ingenuity. This was not the work of seasoned or disciplined criminals. It was, however, still a deliberate, co-ordinated theft of extraordinary value.”
Gold delivered to Mississauga jeweller, court hears
At about 7:30 p.m. with Chaudhary driving “in tandem,” according to the agreed statement, the tractor-trailer driver left the cargo facility and headed to Acton. He met up with Chaudhary, who “took possession” of some of the gold, court heard. The rest was then delivered to a Mississauga jeweller.
Chaudhary knew it couldn’t be sold off as is, the statement said, but told one of his co-conspirators working at the airport that there was “too much heat” in the immediate aftermath of the theft to have the gold melted down right away.
“We going to have to wait now. Melt gold is a process. LOL,” he wrote in his message, court heard.
By June 9, according to the statement, the gold had been melted and sold and Chaudhary was told the buyer “took all of it.
“They got horny when they see it. Ha ha ha. They can’t let it go,” a co-conspirator messaged him, court heard. “The price dropped more today, but honoured yesterday’s price. They said it’s about to be a s— show.”
‘Get your life back on track:’ Judge
The driver then fled the country, the statement said. Chaudhary admitted texting the man’s landlord: “Make sure he knows I got him,” and “Tell him to keep quiet.” Then in September 2023, he paid $25,000 for the driver’s lawyer after he was arrested on U.S. charges.
“Mr. Chaudhary did this to ensure that (the alleged driver) would not speak about his knowledge of the gold theft,” the statement said.
Chaudhary was in charge of distributing the proceeds from the stolen gold, the statement said. On Sept. 14, 2023, a search warrant of his Enfield Place home located, among other items, $154,000 in cash and a handwritten “debt list” divvying up $10.03 million.
On Dec. 3, 2023, according to the statement, Chaudhary told his parents and sister he was going to Dubai to work as a courier. The judge credited his steadfast family — who were also in court — for convincing him to do the right thing and turn himself in on Jan. 12.
“Mr. Chaudhary, I wish you all the luck while you serve your sentence,” the judge concluded. “I urge you, when you are out of custody, to turn to your parents and your sister to get your life back on track.”
With that, the convicted gold thief looked at his family, placed his hand on his heart and was taken away.
mmandel@postmedia.com
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