ED searches Mohali premises of ‘suspect’ of Canada gold heist         

The Enforcement Directorate today raided the Sector 79 house of Simran Preet Panesar, one of the nine suspects in the $20 million gold heist from the Toronto Pearson International Airport in April 2023.

ED sleuths reached the suspect's house around 7 am and began investigation.

An Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act has been registered.

In April 2024, the Peel Regional Police (PRP) booked nine persons, including former Air Canada supervisor Panesar and issued an arrest warrant against him. Panesar and co-accused Parampal Sidhu, who lived in Brampton, were then employed at Toronto Pearson's warehouse facility and are suspected to have played a role in the theft of cargo containing 6,600 bars of gold weighing 400 kg. Around 20 million Canadian Dollars (CAD), and foreign currency worth 2.5 million CAD also went missing on April 17, 2023.

The Canada police suspect Panesar tracked the flight carrying gold till its arrival and had access to the storage facility. He is reported to have given a tour to the Canada police of the facility during investigation. Panesar reportedly left Canada three months after the theft.