One would think in a post-9/11 world with surveillance cameras everywhere and extra security required to protect soft targets like airports, it would be impossible to pull off one of the largest gold heists in Canadian history. But, not so..On a cool and cloudy evening, Air Canada Flight 881 from Zurich landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The Boeing 777 disembarked its passengers and cargo. One container with gold was taken to the other side of the airport known as Cargo West, which can be accessed by the public side of a warehouse and is leased to a third party. It's considered outside of the airport’s security zone..Nearby is easy access to roads and highways that go in all directions and the area's layout is designed to move goods around quickly. A short time later, according to police, the container with $20 million in gold vanished without a trace..Police remain evasive. They provide morsels of information along the way, but a lot remains unknown. Air Canada flew the gold in, Toronto Dominion Bank appears to be the owner of the gold and the Brink's company was coordinating the transport. Cops believe locals connected to organized crime carried out the heist..Back in the 1970s in New York City, organized crime was at the apex of its power. They owned the city and John F Kennedy International Airport was a target they liked to hit for a quick score. On December 11, 1978, six masked men burst into the Lufthansa Airlines cargo area in the early morning hours, no shots were fired, no injuries and no evidence left and in 64 minutes stole $5 million in untraceable bills, $800,000 in jewels that today would be worth more than $25 million. The cash and jewels were never recovered and after a 10-year investigation, one person was arrested..The only evidence that surfaced were dead bodies as the two mob figures that orchestrated the caper got greedy and afraid of being ratted out, knocking off anyone connected to the crime..The key person in the heist was insider Louis Werner who worked as a supervisor for Lufthansa, got behind in his gambling debts, was desperate for cash and came up with the idea for the robbery. The heist would go on to inspire Martin Scorsese’s brilliant 1990’s film Goodfellas which captured the essence of the mob’s fall from power..Although police like to downplay heists and usually refer to them as isolated events run by low-life criminals with low IQs, these criminals are anything but, and take on huge risks to live a life of luxury. To pull off a high-stakes robbery requires lots of resources, studying, attention to detail, cunning, perfect timing and audacity. The planning can take anywhere from a couple of months to two years; especially important is planning the getaway. A typical burglar may not have the refinement of George Clooney in Ocean’s Eleven, but underneath that exterior lies lots of skill, ambition and greed..According to the report, The Perfect Heist, written by Sandia National Laboratories from California between 2000 and 2008, the average time between $100 million dollar heists attempted around the world was 14 months. A typical profile of a gang involves males in their 30s, experienced in crime, residing in the country where the theft takes place, and a team of anywhere from three to four accomplices..Weapons are carried, but not needed to succeed. The thieves are innovative and creative in their planning and go to great lengths to identify the weaknesses of the target well in advance. An insider is usually involved, sometimes multiple insiders and sometimes an insider is coerced after having their life or the life of a family member threatened..In the Pearson heist, one can deduce it was not a smash-and-grab with lots of damage done to the property, or a robbery with violence taking place and people being subdued or kidnapped. Instead, it appears to be a “walk away crime” relying on timing and route planning, while getting around security measures. That type of crime can be executed in plain sight and under everyday working conditions. The thieves likely exploited the airport’s weak spot of a cargo area with little security and swiftly moved their loot and effortlessly got out of the way..A retired former RCMP major crime investigator, Bruce Pitt-Payne, believes someone on the inside knew enough to produce a plan: “Somehow, somebody had information, they didn’t just all of a sudden go, ‘Gee, I wonder if there’s gold in that building? Oh, look, what a lucky day.”.According to Pitt-Payne, the next step is for police to investigate where the gold could be headed and whether the thieves will try to sell it. The investigation will involve some luck to solve, he said. “A certain percentage of police files don’t get solved and it depends on who’s better at their job: The police or the criminal?”.In all likelihood, the gold has already been melted down to become untraceable and may be on a ship headed to its destination. If not, the crew could take the chance of selling the gold in chunks and accept the risk of involving more people increasing the chance of getting caught. Laying low is another option, to allow the heat from the police to subside..This requires a great deal of discipline. It tests the criminal's innate greediness, desire to spend their spoils, start living large and make come true their dream of not having to work, living in paradise with everything available that one's heart can desire..That's always the weak spot in the plan.
