On the morning of the Toronto airport gold heist, an Air Canada employee working at the cargo depot where the loot was about to be stolen received a text message from his supervisor’s personal phone: “Gooooood morning it is.”
asserted
it → work → phone
Minutes later the employee replied saying he was “soo tired.. no sleep.”
“We looking good anyways for today,” came the manager’s replied.
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manager → reply → today
Both men stand accused of being part of the insider conspiracy that pulled off one of the world’s largest gold heists, and their friendly chats prior to the theft — and a sharp falling out afterwards — is revealed in a trove of data extracted from a seized phone.
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chats → accuse → phone
The Air Canada manager was named in court as Simran Preet Panesar, 34, who is considered a wanted fugitive in the heist case and believed to be in India.
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who → name → India
Sidhu has pleaded not guilty to theft and conspiracy.
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Sidhu → plead → theft
Sidhu’s phone was seized by Peel Regional Police when he was arrested on April 5, 2024, almost a year after the high-profile heist.
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he → seize → heist
His home was searched as well.
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home → search → ?
Det.-Const. Edil Aden told court on Thursday that investigators extracted the phone’s contents using Cellebrite, a digital-forensics software tool.
“So it has text messages, phone calls, logs, images, videos.
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it → tell → messages
Their phone is put onto a screen for us,” Aden said.
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Aden → put → us
The printed data report was about two inches thick.
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report → print → ?
Aden said messages found on Sidhu’s phone had been sent and received through various tools, including text, encrypted apps and social media direct messaging.
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messages → say → text
One chat on Sidhu’s phone from a few months before the heist in April 2023 was with a jeweller about how to accurately test for nearly pure gold that had been melted without contamination.
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that → test → contamination
Most of the messages that court heard about, however, were linked to Panesar, who might have been a co-accused at this same trial if he had returned to Canada.
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he → hear → Canada
Panesar was the manager with Air Canada at the cargo warehouse at Pearson airport to whom Sidhu reported.
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Sidhu → report → whom
Their messages refer to going to the gym, having haircuts, getting coffee, sharing rides to work and laser hair removal recommendations.
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messages → refer → work
Sidhu had five different means of contacting Panesar saved on his phone, including on encrypted communication apps Signal and WhatsApp.
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Sidhu → have → apps
The profile photos of Panesar saved on Sidhu’s phone look different from the widely circulated photo of Panesar in his police mug shot because he sometimes wears a hairpiece, court was told.
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court → save → hairpiece
On the day of the heist, the two exchanges dozens of short messages, some highlighted to Judge Gordon Cudjoe as suspicious, or, in the words of Crown prosecutor Tyler Powell, “potentially relevant to this investigation.
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some → highlight → investigation
They included Panesar’s enthusiastic greetings for the day and a message from him a few hours after the heist.
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They → include → heist
“I think I’ll be going to India for days off just to get away few days,” the message from Panesar’s phone says.
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message → think → phone
He said it was his wedding anniversary.
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it → say → ?
“Happy Anniversary,” Sidhu replies.
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Sidhu → reply → ?
A few hours later, a message to Panesar’s number from Sidhu’s phone said: “Hey….gotta a call from my cuz who’s in peel.
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who → say → peel
said he heard about a brings heist at cargo last night… lol.
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he → say → cargo
“No nothing like that happened,” was the reply.
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reply → happen → that
Court heard little or no context to the messages.
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Court → hear → messages
Presumably the reference to “brings heist” is a misspelling of Brink’s, the security transit company that was moving the gold from Switzerland to Toronto on an Air Canada flight for their client, TD Bank.
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that → move → client
It wasn’t until Brink’s guards arrived to collect the crate hours later that anyone realized it was gone.
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it → arrive → crate
Aden also testified about a screen recording found on Sidhu’s phone that appears to capture a thoroughly modern falling out between the two men: There is a screen shot of a message reading “Last chance” and then a sequence showing Sidhu’s phone blocking Panesar on Instagram.
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phone → testify → Instagram
Adel said police can’t say the screen recording was made by Sidhu, only that it was on Sidhu’s phone.
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it → say → phone
It is not clear when the recording was made.
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recording → make → ?
gotta a call from my cuz who’s in peel.
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who → get → peel
said he heard about a brings heist at cargo last night…
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he → say → cargo
“14” a message from Sidhu’s account says.
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message → say → account
“Yes I know” is the reply from Panesar’s.
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reply → know → Panesar
“Bullshit,” says Sidhu’s.
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Sidhu → say → ?
“And I have news for you.
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I → have → you
We speak tomorrow.
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We → speak → ?
Cool?” says Panesar’s account.
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account → say → ?
I urge you guys to do the right thing.
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I → urge → thing
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
