Witness at Toronto gold heist trial says snitching is never ‘a positive thing’ but his sudden memory loss isn’t out of fear

Arsalan Chaudhary, a suspect in the 2023 Pearson International Airport gold heist, is arrested by Peel Regional Police after arriving at Pearson airport from Dubai, on Monday Jan. 12, 2026. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun/Postmedia

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The star witness at the Toronto airport gold heist trial — who admitted to being a mastermind of one of the biggest gold heists in history — said several times that he didn’t have an opinion on snitching, but it turned out he really did.

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After days of court testimony marked by low-energy, little memory, and complaints of “feeling triggered” by questions, Arsalan Chaudhary was asked if his reticence was more about prison culture than mental health.

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“It’s hard giving evidence against someone when you yourself are in custody,” Crown prosecutor Jelena Vlacic asked him.

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“I have no opinion,” Chaudhary replied.

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“It’s challenging to snitch against someone, particularly when you’re in custody,” she asked again.

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“I have no comment, ma’am.”

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Vlacic reminded him that when he was previously testifying as a prelude to his own guilty plea — during which he gave detailed testimony — he asked in court if there were “any newspapers here,” and was told there weren’t. “You were concerned about the media attention,” Vlacic said, before noting that reporters were in court in Brampton, Ont., this time.

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He agreed he was snitching but on Simran Preet Panesar, one of the co-accused in the heist who is considered a fugitive and living in India, but not against the accused currently on trial, Parmpal Sidhu. Vlacic suggested it was easier to snitch against someone who isn’t in the country.

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Chaudhary became more animated, his voice clearer and louder, his replies much longer.

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“When you’re in jail and when you snitch on somebody, it doesn’t matter where they are. If snitching is a snitch, it doesn’t make a difference,” he said. “People in jail, they don’t look at one snitch compared to another snitch any differently. So it doesn’t matter if I’m snitching on somebody who’s out of the country or someone who’s in the country. It doesn’t make a big difference in jail.”

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“I guess you do have some opinion on it, then, right?” Vlacic said. She asked him if snitching was a positive thing in prison.

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“I don’t think so, ma’am. It’s never been a positive thing anywhere.”

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Before that exchange Monday, Chaudhary presented as someone with little energy or affect. He asked the court to let him recuperate more from his trauma before testifying more about who did what in the plot, even though the court had just given him a five-day break to recover.

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“I’m feeling triggered,” Chaudhary said when asked for details about the gold heist. “It just takes me to a place where it makes me very uncomfortable,” he said. “I’m just getting triggered by everything, and kind of nerve shaking, bringing me back memories.”

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Parmpal Sidhu, who is accused in connection to the 2023 gold heist at Toronto’s Pearson airport, outside the courthouse during his trial in Brampton, Ont., on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. Photo by Peter Power/Postmedia News

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Chaudhary, 43, of Mississauga, Ont., has pleaded guilty to theft for the 2023 heist, when a crate containing more than $22.5 million worth of almost pure gold and cash was stolen from the Air Canada cargo warehouse at Pearson airport soon after arriving on an Air Canada flight from Zurich, Switzerland. He is serving a four-year sentence.

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He was a reluctant witness, ordered by a judge to be brought from his cell and into court to take the stand at Sidhu’s trial.