Aircraft Container Holding $15M Worth of Gold, Valuables Stolen in Heist

Authorities say $15 million worth of gold and other valuables were stolen Monday in a heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The airport is often used to ship gold mined in Ontario, the BBC reports. A "high-value" aircraft container arrived on a plane that night and was unloaded and taken to a cargo holding facility; from there, police believe, the 5-square-foot container was nabbed. No one has yet been arrested in the theft, the CBC reports. There were reports that organized crime might be involved, but a local police spokesperson said it was too early to call it a "professional" job.

Thieves accessed the public side of a warehouse that a third-party leases, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority said, noting that the area involved is outside the authority's primary security line. "This did not involve access to Toronto Pearson itself and did not pose a threat to passengers or GTAA staff," the authority says. Authorities agree that there is no threat to public safety or airport security, and airport operations were not disrupted. Police are calling it an "isolated," as well as "rare," incident. They have not revealed where the cargo came from, where it was headed, or on which airline it had traveled. (More Toronto stories.)