Among the planes landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport that day was one in the red and white colours of Air Canada, carrying a valuable shipment from a Swiss bank.
Flight AC 881 landed shortly before 4 p.m., approximately nine hours after leaving Zurich.
Its cargo is quickly recovered and stored. Among other things, it contains an ordinary gray crate wrapped in film that does not attract attention.
However, it contains 6,600 gold bars worth $20 million and banknotes of various currencies worth $2.5 million.
At around 6:30 p.m., a man arrived at the wheel of an anonymous white truck in the “cargo” area of the airport, the one intended for transporting goods.
To enter the warehouse, he presents an Air Canada waybill with the number 014-67596056, authorizing him to pick up a shipment of salmon from Cooke Aquaculture, a Scottish company that had delivered its fish from London’s Heathrow Airport. The salmon is destined for a seafood wholesaler in suburban Toronto.
