Two accused in sensational Toronto airport gold heist are now facing separate trials, pleading not guilty - National Post

Parmpal Sidhu, 56, and Archit Grover, 36, have both been charged in connection with a $22-million gold heist at Toronto Pearson airport on April 17, 2023. Photo by Peel Regional PoliceArticle contentTwo men set to face a jury trial together for the astonishing Toronto Pearson airport gold heist have had their hearings separated, and will each now have only a judge decide their fate.

Parmpal Sidhu, 56, who worked at the Air Canada warehouse from where the $22-million shipment of gold bars and currency was stolen in 2023, and Archit Grover, 39, who allegedly owned the truck used to haul the shipment from the airport, will face separate trials a month apart, likely in front of different judges.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Nancy Dennison agreed to separate the prosecutions for the men, both from Brampton, Ont., on Friday, at the request of Grover’s lawyer.

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“Archit Grover stands in a different position than his co-accused who are going to trial or who are still on the run,” Grover’s lawyer, Andrew Furgiuele, told National Post. “The factual considerations relating to his co-accused have no relevance with respect to him.”

Grover was arrested May 6, 2024, at Pearson airport after he flew back to Canada from India. Peel Regional Police announced nine arrest warrants for the gold heist about three weeks before, on the first anniversary of the heist. At the time, Grover was named as a fugitive.

“Mr. Grover is looking forward to his trial with the same confidence he had when he immediately came back to Canada to face his charges after the police announced the arrest warrants. He was not guilty then, is not guilty now, and will remain so after his trial,” Furgiuele said.

Sidhu, by contrast, had been quietly arrested in Canada on April 5, 2024, almost two weeks before the splashy police announcement.

Shale Wagman, Sidhu’s lawyer, professed his client’s innocence.

“He’s pleading not guilty for sure. He’s doing fine. He’s taking it well. He didn’t do anything wrong and he’s anxious to clear his name,” Wagman told National Post.

Neither Wagman nor the Crown prosecutor, Jelena Vlacic, opposed the severance motion, according to court records.

Both accused men then switched their trial choice from a jury trial to being heard by a judge only.

They were to face a joint trial and had previously asked for it to be heard before a jury. Jury selection was scheduled to begin Oct. 1. Instead, the trial for Sidhu is now scheduled to begin Oct. 5 and run for two or three weeks, and the trial for Grover is set for two weeks in late November. Both trials are to be in their hometown of Brampton.

Sidhu and Grover face the same two charges.

Each is accused of conspiring with others to commit theft over $5,000, and of stealing gold and bank notes worth more than $5,000 that were the property of the Toronto Dominion Centre, the global headquarters for the TD Bank. Both charges are tied to the date of the airport heist: April 17, 2023.