Suspect In Canada's Biggest Gold Heist Traced. He Is Currently Working In Chandigarh As...

Last Updated:February 15, 2025, 09:48 IST

Simran Preet Panesar, 31, was allegedly involved in the theft of 22 million Canadian dollars worth of gold bars from a storage facility. He was traced living in Chandigarh with his family.

Simran Preet Panesar from Brampton is one of the suspects of Canada's largest gold heist. (Photo: X)

A former Air Canada manager who is facing a Canada-wide warrant for his alleged role in the country’s largest gold and cash heist has been found living on the outskirts of India’s Chandigarh.

On April 17, 2023, an air cargo container carrying more than 22 million Canadian dollars worth of gold bars and foreign currency was stolen from a secure storage facility using fake paperwork, Peels Regional Police said. The gold and currency had arrived on an Air Canada flight from Zurich, Switzerland, to Pearson Airport in Toronto.

Last year, police apprehended several Indian-origin men, including Archit Grover, Parmpal Sidhu and Amit Jalota as well as other suspects Ammad Chaudhary, Ali Raza and Prasath Paramalingam. Canada-wide warrants were issued for Simran Preet Panesar, 31, from Brampton, who was also an Air Canada employee at the time of the theft and Arsalan Chaudhary from Mississauaga.

The Indian Express, in collaboration with the CBC News: The Fifth Estate, Canada, tracked Panesar living in a rented accommodation with his family including his wife Preety Panesar, a former Miss India Uganda, singer and an actor. She is not believed to be involved in the heist.

What Is Panesar Up To Now?

As per the report, Preet Panesar is living a normal life and is helping his wife’s and family’s business affairs, all while Canadian authorities are looking for him for his role in the multimillion-dollar gold heist. When The Indian Express team met Panesar at his residence, he declined to speak “on record" citing legal reasons.

One of Panesar’s neighbours said they learnt he was “involved in some monetary dispute in Canada, but were told that it was over". Soon after the heist, Panesar reportedly led the police on a tour of the cargo facility where the heist took place, then left Canada and came to India, while authorities there were looking for him.

Reports claimed last year in June that he would turn himself in to the Canadian police, which did not happen. Panesar declined to reply to queries sent to him in India – and his lawyer in Canada – citing his family’s “safety and legal reasons".

What Did The Investigation Reveal?

The stolen cargo contained 6600 bars of .9999 pure gold, weighing 400 kilograms, valued at over 20 million dollars and Canadian dollars 2.5 million worth in foreign currency. In an earlier statement, the police said that investigators seized one kilogramme of gold worth approximately Canadian dollars 89,000, believed to be from the theft, smelting equipment, and approximately 434,000 dollars in Canadian currency.

According to the police, at least two former Air Canada employees allegedly helped in the audacious theft, one of whom is now in custody, while an arrest warrant has been issued for the other. Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick later confirmed Sidhu and Panesar’s employment with the national flag carrier.

The documents of the Peel Regional Police’s investigation in the heist revealed that 20 officers from the organisation worked full time to uncover details of the heist. There are a total of nine suspects including Panesar allegedly involved in this case.

A Canadian national, Durante King-McLean, was the driver of the truck in which the gold was allegedly transported out of the Pearson Airport, the investigation revealed. Archit Grover owned the trucking company that owned the truck used in the theft, while Amit Jalota, Grover’s cousin, and his associate Arsalan Chaudhary looked after the stolen gold. Ali Raza. Ammad Chaudhary and Prasath Parmalingam assisted King Mc-Lean in crossing the border and helped him stay in the US.

(with agency inputs)

Chandigarh, India, India

News world Suspect In Canada's Biggest Gold Heist Traced. He Is Currently Working In Chandigarh As...