The man wanted in the biggest gold robbery in history turned out to be an Indian, and he quietly reached India after the incident.
There have been alarming reports in the Indian media that the robber responsible for the biggest gold robbery in Canadian history is an Indian and he has been found in India, but surprisingly, the local police have not yet arrested this fugitive from the extraordinary robbery.
According to Indian media, 32-year-old Simran Preet Panesar, a former Air Canada manager wanted by police in Canada for the robbery of gold worth over $20 million (Pakistani rupees 556 crore), is living quietly with his family on the outskirts of Chandigarh.
His wife Preeti Panesar also lives with him, according to the report. Preeti, a former singer and actress, has no role in the robbery.
On April 17, 2023, a flight from Zurich, Switzerland landed at Pearson International Airport, carrying 6,600 bars of pure gold, weighing 400 kilograms. The consignment of gold was also accompanied by 2.5 million Canadian dollars worth of foreign currency.
Shortly after landing, the cargo was unloaded from the plane and delivered to a location owned by the airport. However, a day later, on April 18, the cargo was reported missing in the early hours of the morning.
After a year-long investigation, police were looking for two Indian Canadians who worked at the warehouse where the gold was allegedly stolen.
They were identified as Prampal Sidhu and Simranpreet Panesar. Sidhu was arrested in May 2024, while Panesar, who worked as a manager at the warehouse and had also given police a tour of the site after the robbery, was arrested.
Later in July 2024, Panesar’s lawyer Greg Lafontaine said that he was preparing to surrender to police in the next few weeks because “he has great faith in the Canadian justice system.” Simranpreet Panesar has an arrest warrant issued in Canada and is living in India as a fugitive. Panesar is now living in a rented house with his wife after the multi-billion rupee robbery.
Media representatives reached out to him but he remains at large. He declined to speak on the record for “legal reasons.”
Panesar apparently told neighbors that his “financial dispute” in Canada had ended. Although Simranpreet Panesar is living a normal life in India, Peel Regional Police are continuing to investigate the gold heist.
According to documents, the investigating officers in this case have worked “28,096 hours and 9,500 hours of overtime,” while the investigation is still ongoing.
Canadian police say that Sidhu and Panesar worked together and facilitated the robbery.
