Air Canada’s woeful security at cargo warehouse at time of Toronto’s airport gold heist detailed in court

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Court heard that security has improved at the warehouse, but at the time of the gold heist the evidence painted a picture of a security mess where computer credentials, profiles, and logins were frequently shared among employees out of convenience, shared workspaces, shared computers and staff forgetting to log out.

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Parmpal Sidhu was charged in connection with a $22-million gold heist at Toronto Pearson airport on April 17, 2023. Photo by Peel Regional Police

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Sometimes she would sit down at a computer and find it already logged in by someone else and crucial internal systems were accessible.

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“You would have a direct opportunity to change something or do whatever functions and, unfortunately, we used to do that,” she said under questioning by Crown prosecutor Tyler Powell.

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Sidhu’s lawyer, Shale Wagman, later pressed her further on the point.

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“Security, you would agree, was very lax at Air Canada cargo at that time,” Wagman asked Zaritskaya.

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“Do I have to answer to this question,” Zaritskaya asked the judge.

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“There’s nothing wrong with the question,” said Judge Gordon Cudjoe of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Brampton.

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“Not in every area,” Zaritskaya answered, “but it clearly was lacking since we have stolen gold, so I have to answer yes.”

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Asked whether one of Sidhu’s co-accused in the gold heist, a fellow former Air Canada employee named Simran Preet Panesar, had access to Sidhu’s computer at the warehouse, Zaritskaya said she did not specifically know but it is likely.

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“It is safe to assume that anybody would have access to (Sidhu’s) computer or to my computer or to any computer,” she said.

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Similarly, she was asked by Powell about the official Air Canada stamps used on the doctored waybill that made it look official. Could any employee access them, he asked?

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“Yes,” Zaritskaya said. “Usually all of them (the stamps) are at the counter… Probably the customer cannot reach out to grab them but anybody who is behind me or around me, they can just come and grab it. We didn’t monitor them or anything like that before.”

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Zaritskaya was asked by prosecutors if she knew Sidhu, who sat beside his lawyers in court wearing a white button-up shirt under a light beige jacket, and periodically whispered to them.

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Air Canada’s cargo holding facility known as Cargo West, off Britannia Road East, in Mississauga, Ont. Photo by Peter J. Thompson/National Post

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She said they used to be colleagues at the Air Canada warehouse, where he worked for several year before the gold theft.

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Sidhu was a lead cargo service agent. People often called him “Paul” at work.

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“Anything I needed as a manager, he was there. Never was problematic or dramatic or anything else that unionized employees could be. So, at the time when I was working with him, there was no issues.

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“I have to say he is very knowledgeable. He always knew everything.”

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That meant he had the knowledge to use any of the Air Canada computers or equipment and knew the codes and processes that impact all the shipments, she said.

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Sidhu pleaded not guilty to charges of theft over $5,000 and conspiracy to steal more than $5,000.

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The trial continues Tuesday.

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