[Leondros]

https://nationalpost.com/news/toront...ort-gold-heist

This is comically bad on AC's part...

In April, a Swiss bank called Raiffeisen Schweiz, hired Brink’s to transport cash — banknotes with a value of US$1,945,843, weighing 53.18 kilos — from Zurich to Toronto, according to Brink’s statement of claim.

The money, declared as “BANKNOTES”, was being shipped to the Vancouver Bullion and Currency Exchange, according to the lawsuit.

Around the same time, Valcambi SA, a precious metals refining company in Switzerland, hired Brink’s to transport 400.19 kilos of gold — valued at more than $20.4 million — to Toronto.

The gold, declared as “GOLDBARS”, was being sent to the Toronto Dominion Bank in Toronto, the suit says.

The two shipments were combined into one air cargo container about the size of a large office desk.

The plane landed at Toronto’s Pearson airport around 4:20 p.m. The shipping container was unloaded and moved to an Air Canada bonded warehouse at the edge of the airport at about 5:50 p.m., the lawsuit claims.

“At approximately (6:32 p.m.), an unidentified individual gained access to AC’s cargo storage facilities. No security protocols or features were in place to monitor, restrict or otherwise regulate the unidentified individual’s access to the facilities,” the lawsuit claims.

“Once inside, the unidentified individual presented to AC personnel the copy of an airway bill respecting an unrelated shipment.

“Upon receipt of the Fraudulent Waybill, AC personnel released the Shipments to the unidentified individual, following which the unidentified individual absconded with the cargo,” the lawsuit claims.

“AC accepted the Fraudulent Waybill from the unidentified individual without verifying its authenticity in any way.

“Had AC made the necessary and appropriate inquiries in the circumstances, the unidentified individual’s ability to steal the cargo entrusted to its care would have been entirely avoided,” according to the Brink’s claim.

The gold and cash had separate air waybills, marked: “BRINK’S SECURED AIRFREIGHT SPECIAL SUPERVISION IS REQUESTED VALUABLE CARGO,” according to the lawsuit.

Brink’s says it engaged the airline’s AC Secure program to ship the container. AC Secure advertises itself as providing “special handling for high-value cargo, with security as the highest priority.”