BANDITS have stolen a £12million haul of gold and other “high value” loot from Toronto Airport in a spectacular movie-style heist.
Canadian cops hastily launched an investigation after thieves made off with the precious metal from the country’s busiest airport.
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The gold, which was being held in a secure facility, was in the process of being moved through Toronto Pearson International Airport.
The airport is often relied on to transport gold that has been mined in Ontario to bling lovers around the world.
But crafty crooks somehow managed to intercept the swag in the “high-value container” on Monday evening.
Thieves seized the booty from a holding cargo facility after it was offloaded from a plane that had landed at the airport.
“An aircraft arrived here at the airport in the early evening,” Inspector Stephen Duivesteyn told reporters.
“As per normal procedure, the aircraft was unloaded and cargo was transported from the aircraft to a holding cargo facility.”
He said the pricey spoils were then snatched using “illegal means.”
Police are now desperately searching for the masterminds behind the extraordinary heist.
“This is very rare,” Duivesteyn added.
No arrests have been made and officials did not release any information on possible suspects.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have been drafted in to help aid the investigation.
But reports claim cops are looking into whether a local gang pulled off the robbery, which echoes the plot of Hollywood blockbusters.
Focus has now fallen on organised criminals operating in the region, according to the Toronto Sun.
Investigators suspect the thieves may have made their escape in a heavy-duty truck due to the size of the swag.
It remains unclear how the gold was stolen from inside the airport.
The Greater Toronto Airport Authority in a brief statement: “As this is an active police investigation, we are unable to provide any comments regarding the matter at this time.”
Bloomberg reported an RCMP spokesperson saying: “We are still trying to get accurate information on the heist.”
The incident has drawn comparisons to the infamous Brinks-Mat robbery in 1983, where £26million of gold and diamond was stolen from a warehouse near Heathrow Airport.
Micky McAvoy and Brian Robinson led the risky raid that recently inspired a BBC drama, The Gold.
The money made from the three tonnes of stolen gold – worth £100million today – made its way through Europe and the US, and was even funnelled through Pablo Escobar’s huge drug empire in Columbia.
Half of the gold is still missing – seeing some claim that anyone who has bought gold jewellery in the UK since is probably wearing Brink’s-Mat metal.
Olivia Burke
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