Two airports: a race of rigor and vigilance against criminal deception

• Toronto Pearson Airport witnessed Canada’s largest ever gold heist on April 17, 2023, when more than $20 million CAD in gold and foreign currency was stolen via a fraudulent bill of lading, exposing insider collusion and verification vulnerabilities.
• A decade ago, Brussels Airport was the victim of a €38 million diamond heist, with attackers exploiting perimeter and procedural vulnerabilities with precise knowledge and inside information, leaving minimal recovery.
• Both incidents highlight recurring risks in high-value air cargo, including insider threats, gaps in documentation and verification, vulnerabilities at transportation points, and the critical need for robust, multi-layered security and preventative measures rather than reactive recovery.

On April 17, 2023, Toronto Pearson International Airport became the scene of Canada’s largest gold heist ever. A shipment of extraordinary value – more than $20 million Canadian dollars in gold bullion and foreign currency – was stolen in a meticulously planned operation that exposed significant weaknesses in the security of the cargo.

The shipment originated in Switzerland and was arranged through Brink Switzerland GmbH. Valcambi, a Swiss precious metals refiner, sent 660 400-kilogram gold bars to Toronto-Dominion Bank, while Raiffeisen Schweiz shipped C$2.7 million in banknotes to Vancouver for bullion and currency exchange. The two shipments were combined into one Brink container, with an area of ​​less than half a square meter. At the time of the theft, the value of the gold was closer to C$34 million when measured at prevailing market prices, a discrepancy that remains unresolved.

The cargo arrived in Toronto on Air Canada Flight 881, a Boeing 777-300ER, and was transferred to an Air Canada holding facility at 5:50 p.m. Less than an hour later, a truck entered the facility and presented a forged bill of lading — an altered version of an original document relating to seafood collected the previous day. The document printed on an internal device was enough to fool employees. The container was duly loaded onto the vehicle and disappeared onto the Ontario road network. By the time Brink’s legitimate truck arrived, the shipment was gone.

The theft was reported to police at 2:43 a.m. The joint investigation between Peel Regional Police and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, codenamed “Project 24K,” revealed ties to organized crime and possible ties to illicit gun trafficking. In April 2024, authorities charged nine individuals, including two Air Canada employees. However, the recovery was minimal: approximately $430,000 in cash, $89,000 in gold jewelry, and evidence of smelting operations. Police believe the gold was smelted and directed to markets in Dubai and India, without effective traceability.

The case highlighted systemic weaknesses: inadequate verification procedures, insider collusion, and over-reliance on paper documents. Despite millions spent on investigations, the bulk of the bullion remains unidentified, a constant reminder of how high-value goods can be compromised through seemingly simple deception.

Diamond theft at Brussels Airport 2013

A decade ago, in February 2013, Brussels Airport was the scene of a daring robbery that demonstrated similar flaws in the handling of high-value cargo. Eight masked and heavily armed assailants, disguised as police officers, infiltrated the airport perimeter and intercepted an armored Brink’s vehicle that was transporting diamonds to a plane bound for Switzerland.

The robbery was carried out with amazing efficiency. In less than 15 minutes, the perpetrators broke through the security fence, drove to the runway in two cars with flashing lights and approached the Fokker plane, which was preparing to depart for Zurich. The security guards and airport staff, who were outnumbered and facing law enforcement officers, offered no resistance. The thieves loaded nearly €38 million worth of polished diamonds – bound for Antwerp, the global diamond trading hub – into their cars and left without firing a shot.

Subsequent investigations revealed that the robbery was among the largest diamond heists in history. Arrests were made throughout Belgium, France and Switzerland, and several suspects were put on trial. However, as in Toronto, the physical recovery has been minimal. The diamonds have disappeared, presumably laundered through illicit markets or cut up and sold in pieces, making them almost impossible to trace.

The operation highlighted extensive planning and deep knowledge of airport procedures. The attackers knew the exact timing of the transfer, the location of the Brink’s truck, and the weak points around the airport. Security analysts concluded that without inside information, the accuracy of the operation could not have been achieved.

The Brussels robbery was a global warning. The combination of organized crime, internal leaks, and weak perimeter controls can neutralize even high-security environments. The incident forced airports and logistics service providers to reconsider the way they handle high-value shipments, especially at transfer points between ground vehicles and aircraft.

Common risks and business lessons

The Toronto and Brussels robberies, although a decade old, illustrate recurring and serious themes in air shipping of valuables. The most obvious is the insider threat. In both cases, knowledge of timings, procedures, and vulnerabilities was too precise to be considered pure coincidence. The complicity of employees, or at the very least the leak of sensitive operational information, enabled the thieves to act decisively.

Second, both thefts exploited documentation and verification gaps. In Toronto, a fraudulent airway bill was enough to bypass security measures, while in Brussels, the use of police vehicles and fake uniforms ensured access without question. In each case, reliance on appearances rather than strict controls was fatal.

Third, the weakness of the transfer point was glaring. Whether in a warehouse or on an airport tarmac, the moment when high-value goods are transferred between modes of transport is still the most vulnerable. These areas require as strict controls as possible, but they remain easy targets.

Finally, there is a lesson in detection and recovery. In both cases, the goods disappeared irretrievably into obscure global markets, demonstrating that prevention is much cheaper and more effective than post-theft investigation. For the air cargo industry, the imperative is clear: procedural rigor, security and vigilance must trump criminal innovation.