Brinks, a security company based in Miami, has claimed to have stolen nearly $20 million worth of gold and cash from the largest Canadian airline due to allegations of forgetting a heist in the airline's Pearson Toronto airport warehouse. According to court documents obtained, on April 14, Brinks ordered the transfer of over 400 kilograms of gold and $1,945,843 in U.S. currency from Zurich to Toronto through two Swiss banks, Raiffeisen and Valcambi. At that time, the value of gold was over 13.2 million Swiss francs or approximately $20 million Canadian dollars at the current exchange rate.
The cargo was delivered to Flight AC881, which departed from Zurich at 1:25 PM local time on April 17 and arrived at Pearson without any issues at 3:56 PM. An unidentified individual handed a cargo manifest to Air Canada personnel, a document that contained all the details of the shipment, including instructions on what it contained and where it should go.
Brinks claims that the manifest was a copy of another manifest attached to an unrelated shipment. Brinks states that Air Canada accepted the manifest "without verifying its accuracy in any way."
With the receipt of the fraudulent manifest, Air Canada's personnel released the cargo to the unidentified individual, who subsequently absconded with the shipment. Brinks alleges that Air Canada mishandled the situation, failed to provide adequate security measures, and was careless and negligent, thus making off with the valuables without due diligence. Brinks also claims that Air Canada failed to provide secure storage facilities with effective surveillance through closed-circuit cameras and active human patrols.
Brinks says it contacted Air Canada on April 27 and declared its intention to seek a full reimbursement for the expenses it has incurred, but as of October 6, "no response has been received from AC."
As a result, Brinks has taken the matter to federal court and is requesting a court hearing in Toronto. In addition to the value of the stolen goods, the company is also claiming "special damages" and unspecified legal costs.

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