Gold heist spotlights illegal US-Canada gun trade
By Nadine Yousif
The arrests that followed a “sensational” gold heist have shed light on the illegal gun trade between the US and Canada.
Thousands of gold bars worth C$20m ($14.5m; £11.6m) were stolen from the Toronto airport in Canada a year ago.
Police have since said the gold was sold for cash to buy guns in the US.
Officials allege the arrested suspects had planned to smuggle the guns into Canada, which has strict gun laws, and sell them on the black market.
“This isn’t just about gold,” said Nando Iannicca, chair of the Peel Regional Police, the force responsible for the arrest of nine suspects who were allegedly involved in the heist.
“This is about how gold becomes guns.”
The smuggling of illegal guns from the US has long been a source of concern for police in Canada, where most firearms – save for shotguns and rifles – are restricted or prohibited.
The US has enshrined the right bear arms in the US constitution, which has made firearms readily accessible and gun ownership a challenging political topic in America.
