MISSISSAUGA jeweller Ali Raza on Wednesday had the charge against him in connection to the sensational April 17, 2023 Pearson airport gold heist dropped in a court hearing.
Peel Police announced a year after the Toronto heist that Raza, then 37, had been arrested. He was charged with possession of property obtained by crime.
His lawyer Brij Mohan of Brampton’s Brij Mohan & Associates told The VOICE in an email that all charges against Raza were withdrawn, adding: “In my opinion, our justice system is the best in the world, but nothing is perfect. Mr. Raza was an innocent man – today, he gets his life back. He was too emotional to speak for the most part but wanted to thank his family supporters and his lawyers for always believing in him.”
Mohan added: “As I mentioned at the press conference, Mr. Ali always steadfastly maintained his innocence and we never doubted he was factually (and legally) innocent. We did the press conference to set the record straight, that he was innocent as we wanted the world to know what we always knew.”
Mohan noted: “His business and life were destroyed by these allegations, and he can now move forward with his life.”
He said: “At the press conference it was stated that it is too early for Mr. Raza to be considering any type of legal action, he just wants his life to go back to normal.”
Mohan also pointed out: “It was discussed that his shop was too small to be able to melt gold bars (something Mr. Raza demonstrated to the media previously). It was discussed that Mr. Raza himself was fully cooperative with police and even reached out to the police himself.”
Raza added: “We mentioned that the Peel Police are some of the best in Canada. … We also thanked the Brampton Crown Counsel for their handling of this matter.”
On April 17, 2023, a flight arriving at Toronto Pearson International Airport from Zurich, Switzerland, carried a cargo shipment containing approximately 400 kilograms of .9999-pure gold – equivalent to 6,600 bars and valued at more than $20 million – along with $2.5 million in foreign currency. The shipment was offloaded and transported to a separate location on airport property, but was reported missing to Peel Regional Police the following day.
Almost all of the gold remains unaccounted for. Arsalan Chaudhary, one of the key masterminds, was sentenced in April to four years in jail. He has also been ordered to pay back $22 million to Brink’s and given 40 years to make good on the order, Toronto Star reported.
Photo: Peel Regional Police
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, theft charges against one of the accused, Amit Jalota, 42, of Oakville, were withdrawn on Tuesday.
