Man accused of $23 million gold heist at Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga, hunted by police

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One of 10 suspects charged in connection with the ongoing theft of $23 million in gold bullion and cash from Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga last year – the largest such theft in Canadian history – is being hunted by police after he missed his last court date.

Peel Regional Police confirmed in an email to INsauga.com that Prasath Paramalingam, 35, of Brampton, is wanted on a bench warrant issued after he failed to appear in court on August 19.

He is charged with accessory after the fact in connection with the theft on April 17, 2023, which quickly grabbed international headlines not only because of the value of the stolen goods, but also because the group of thieves responsible for the theft apparently disappeared into the night without delay.

The massive theft sent Peel police investigators on an international manhunt that included other law enforcement agencies in both Canada and the US. Arrests have not been made for nearly a year.

On the evening of the theft, around dinner time, a A five-tonne truck took a load of $23 million in gold and cash from an Air Canada cargo facility and then headed up Highway 401 to somewhere north of Milton, about 25 miles west of Pearson.

The gold and cash had arrived just hours earlier on an Air Canada flight from Zurich, Switzerland.

The large white truck, with about 6,600 gold bars and just over $2 million in cash on board, was tracked down after the fact by police using video surveillance from numerous businesses between the airport and Milton.

He was spotted by Peel police investigators leaving Highway 401 and traveling north into Milton, where he then disappeared and was not seen in any other surveillance footage.

Earlier this year, after making a series of arrests in the high-profile casepolice revealed that the alleged driver of the getaway truck was arrested by US law enforcement officers in Pennsylvania in September 2023.

The man was arrested after police in that state detained a vehicle found to be carrying dozens of illegal weapons. He remains in custody in the US to answer the charges there.

Most of the suspects were accused of stealing the gold have already appeared in Brampton court and were released pending further court appearances.

Two of the suspects remain at large and are the subject of arrest warrants across Canada.

In June, the Peel Police Service Board heard from police that the extensive investigation it has cost Peel Regional Police $5.3 million so far to investigateand the tab could climb to $10 million.

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