Simran Preet Panesar, an Indian-origin man who is wanted in Canada for his involvement in the biggest gold heist in the country's history, has reportedly been located in Chandigarh. Panesar has been on the run after 6,600 gold bars weighing 400 kg, estimated to be worth $20 million, were stolen from Toronto's Pearson International Airport in April 2023.
The former Air Canada manager was tracked down in Chandigarh by The Indian Express and Canadian news outlet CBC News: The Fifth Estate.
A resident of Brampton, Panesar is reportedly living in Chandigarh with his wife, Preety Panesar, a former Miss India Uganda, and a singer and actor.
In June 2024, his lawyer, Greg Lafontaine, told CBC that Panesar was out of Canada but expressed his willingness to surrender. Claiming innocence, Lafontaine said Panesar was very confident in the justice system and that ¡°when this prosecution is over, he will have been absolved of any wrongdoing.¡±
Ever since it was reported that Panesar had fled Canada, there has been suspicion of him hiding in India; however, only now have his whereabouts been located.
The biggest gold heist in Canada's history happened on April 17, 2023, when 400 kilograms of pure gold and about $2.5 million in various foreign currencies were stolen from Pearson's cargo compound, shortly after arriving on a flight from Zurich.
The theft was believed to have been an inside job, and two Indian-origin men who worked in the warehouse from where the gold was stolen were declared as suspects.
While one of them, Parampal Sidhu, was arrested in May 2024, Panesar, who worked as a manager at the warehouse, managed to flee Canada.
In May 2024, Archit Grover, another suspect in the case, was arrested on his arrival in Canada on a flight from India.
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