Authorities in India question suspect in Pearson gold heist following Fifth Estate investigation
Police in Canada say Simran Preet Panesar is a main figure in theft at Toronto airport
Authorities in India, acting on information first reported by The Fifth Estate, have raided a home and questioned a key suspect wanted in connection with the theft of gold worth more than $20 million Cdn from Toronto's Pearson airport.
Officials from India's Enforcement Directorate, which handles economic crimes and money laundering, visited an apartment rented by Simran Preet Panesar on Friday morning, according to local journalists.
Police in Canada say Panesar is a main figure in the theft of the gold from the Air Canada Cargo facility at the airport in April 2023. It is the largest gold heist in Canadian history.
Last week, The Fifth Estate revealed that Panesar, who resigned from Air Canada three months after the robbery, was living in an apartment on the outskirts of Chandigarh, in northern India.
"Our teams have reached [Preet Panesar's] residence and are in the process of questioning him," a senior Enforcement Directorate official told The Indian Express newspaper, which teamed up with The Fifth Estate on the investigation.
Peel Regional Police confirmed to CBC News on Friday that the Enforcement Directorate searched Panesar's apartment but did not arrest him.
The lead detective in the gold heist case credited The Fifth Estate with helping advance the investigation.
"We appreciate The Fifth Estate's investigative journalism in locating him there, because without that assistance, I don't think any of this would have been brought to light," said Det.-Sgt. Mike Mavity.
He said there is a meeting scheduled between Peel police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the coming week to discuss the case.
"This has started conversations with the ED and Peel Regional Police regarding Simran Preet Panesar and hopefully, eventually will lead to apprehending him," Mavity said.
"This has opened up some doors for us, which is fantastic."
The alleged 'inside man'
The Fifth Estate obtained an internal Crown document that alleges Panesar was the inside man and crucial to the heist that saw thieves take 6,600 bars of gold, weighing 400 kilograms, without any guns or violence.
According to the Crown's allegations, of the nine men charged, only Panesar had "the necessary access to search incoming high-value shipments."
The Crown document says Air Canada analyzed its computers after the robbery and found that Panesar searched the system for the incoming flight containing the gold and tracked its movement. Once the plane landed, they say he began tracking the container holding the gold.
"He also manipulated the Air Canada Cargo system, to facilitate the physical removal of the container," the document says.
"Once the theft was complete, he stopped searching altogether."
Panesar is wanted on a Canadawide warrant and is charged with theft over $5,000 and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
When approached by a reporter from the Indian Express recently, Panesar asserted his innocence and said he was wrongly implicated.
Probe launched in India
Three days after the The Fifth Estate investigation was broadcast, and a story in The Indian Express was published, a report emerged in India that its main financial investigative body was taking on the case.
News that the Enforcement Directorate had launched an investigation was first reported by The Hindustan Times. The report said that the directorate had taken up the investigation without a request from Canadian officials.
"It is a rare probe taken up by us [without an outside request] to investigate if the gold from the Toronto airport or any money made out of it has been laundered to India," a senior officer told The Hindustan Times.
The investigation, according to Indian media reports, is being done under the umbrella of India's Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which has a provision to investigate an "offence of cross-border implications."
Under the PMLA, Indian authorities can investigate crimes that take place outside the country that would be considered a crime in India if any of the proceeds were brought back to the country.
Finding a key suspect
The Fifth Estate uncovered previously unreported allegations about Panesar's role on the day of the theft.
The Crown document appears to have evidence that Panesar was part of a chat group with two others accused of taking part in the heist, including the alleged main planner: Arsalan Chaudhary. That day, police say, the group exchanged 772 calls or messages.
The day after the heist, Panesar received a text message from another of the accused: "Hey, gotta … call from my cuz … said he heard about a [Brinks] heist at cargo last night … lol."
Panesar allegedly replied: "no nothing like that happened."
Approximately three months after the robbery, according to the Crown document, Panesar left for India.
In an earlier interview with The Fifth Estate, Mavity told CBC News that at the time Panesar left, the investigative team already considered him an important suspect, but had to make the difficult decision to let him leave the country.
"Obviously, if we arrest him at the time we get some of that evidence and have him in custody," he said.
"The downside is all the other people that we haven't identified, who we now know and we're onto — they can start covering their tracks or fleeing."
The Fifth Estate tracked Panesar to near the northern Indian city of Chandigarh, where he appears to be living and working as a film and music producer. His wife is an aspiring singer and actor. Both are active on social media, although his account is set to private.
The couple's social media posts featured a balcony that appeared to show their current residence. The Fifth Estate, working with journalists in Mohali, a city on the edges of Chandigarh, was able to geolocate the building.
When a journalist with The Indian Express visited the apartment, Panesar was found living there. He declined an interview.