Gold Heist Mastermind Pleads Guilty

0:00One key player in Canada's largest gold theft has pleaded guilty. Three years ago, 44-year-old Arsalan Chaudhary helped steal $22.5 million worth of gold from Toronto's Pearson. Airport. He admitted to theft over $5,000 and creating a handwritten list to split about $10 million in sale proceeds from the four, 100 kilograms of pure gold. The high-starter wanted driver used a fake airway bill to pick up the shipment from an air-canada cargo warehouse around 6.30 p.m. Chaudhary, coordinated closely, talking to the driver 50 times beforehand. They waited out the heat before melting and selling the gold within weeks. Prosecutors call it a highly organized operation, not just a quick grab, which is why it grabs so much attention. Chaudhary's lawyer sees him more as a crime of opportunity using simple tricks like the fake bill. He has a minor record, dropped out of school, and ran a failed restaurant.

1:00Police found the debt list during a home search, showing shares like $5 million up top $150,000 to the driver, and just $23,000 for Chaudhary's parents. He even covered legal fees for the driver after a U.S. arrest. Several others faced charges in the ongoing probe, with some in custody and fugitives still out there. Chaudhary turned himself in last year and could get up to seven years when sentence next month, plus a restitution order for the full amount since. Little Gold was recovered. Toronto News today, powered by AI bringing you what matters.