He was accused in the Pearson gold heist. Now, the Crown's dropping charges against this Oakville man - Toronto Star
The remaining accused are set to go on trial at the end of the month.
A truck used to transport stolen gold was displayed at a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in April 2024.
One of the initial suspects in the largest gold heist in Canadian history has had his charges dropped on the eve of a jury trial set to begin later this month — a development his lawyer says does little to repair his damaged reputation and livelihood.
In Brampton court on Tuesday, Crown attorney Jelena Vlacic said there is no reasonable prospect of conviction against Amit Jalota, 42, of Oakville. She asked that three charges be withdrawn: theft over $5,000, theft of gold and bank notes and unlawful possession of more than $5,000 in currency, knowing it was obtained by an indictable offence.
During the brief hearing, Vlacic outlined the Crown’s reasons for ending the case against Jalota. Those details are subject to a publication ban because the jury trial for three remaining accused men is still pending.
Jalota was arrested along with several other men after $24 million in gold and cash were stolen from an Air Canada cargo facility at Pearson International Airport in April 2023. The gold was loaded onto a truck after a driver presented an Air Canada waybill for a load of seafood.
“While he is delighted that the case is closed and the Crown exercised its discretion appropriately and withdrew the charges — the pain of this process has been excessive and egregious,” his lawyer, Leora Shemesh said a prepared statement.
“There is no apology when the charges are withdrawn. There is no righting this wrong. Instead, Mr. Jalota is forced to pick up the pieces and convince banks and the people around him that he was always innocent.”
Arsalan Chaudhary, 44, pleaded guilty earlier this year for his role as the mastermind of the massive theft that made international headlines. He was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to refund $22 million to Brinks Canada.
In the agreed statement of facts read in late March at Chaudhary’s plea, court heard that the stolen gold was melted down and used to pay off a debt list that included a $5-million payout to an unidentified group; ”$1M” to the “boss”; $200,000 for “Tommy”; $150,000 to a “driver”; $80,000 for a “boat”; $250,000 for a “condo” and “40K” to “parents.”
Meanwhile, an official with the U.S. Department of Justice had no comment on any extradition of Durante King-McLean, 27, the Brampton man who was charged in the gold heist, from Pennsylvania to Canada.
He is serving a sentence of more than 13 years in prison for conspiring to smuggle 65 handguns into Canada.
He was arrested after an alert traffic cop pulled over his rental Nissan Sentra on Sept. 2, 2023, in Franklin County, Pa.
He was the sole occupant of the vehicle and fled on foot.
The cop caught him after a brief foot pursuit.
The handguns were found in the vehicle’s trunk, individually hidden in socks.
Two of the handguns were fully automatic, 11 were stolen and one had an obliterated serial number.
Court heard King-McLean had been in communication with co-conspirators from April 2023 until his arrest and that he had stayed at an Airbnb in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
While in custody in Pennsylvania on the weapons charges, King-McLean was charged by Canadian authorities with taking part in the April 17, 2023, theft of $24-million in gold bars and foreign currency from Pearson airport.
Police studied security footage from 225 homes and businesses to track it’s journey, westbound on Highway 401 past James Snow Parkway to Bronte Road, where it headed north, past a church north of Milton and into the dark and rural area.
Along the way, the driver removed a glove, police say, giving them a fingerprint which they say connects King-McLean to the crime.
American authorities earlier alleged that theft suspects used a little-known encrypted messaging platform called “Threema” to communicate while attempting to buy dozens of illegal weapons.
The encrypted Threema platform reportedly saw a rise in popularity in the underworld globally amid reports that the FBI had used the rival Anom platform in its investigations, tapping into criminal messaging.
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This article was updated from a previous version.
Peter Edwards is a Toronto-based reporter primarily covering crime for the Star. Reach him via email: pedwards@thestar.ca
