The alleged wheelman in the 2023 heist at Toronto’s Pearson airport has agreed to plead guilty to arms-trafficking charges in the U.S., which prosecutors allege stemmed from an effort to spend some of $20 million worth of stolen gold on guns.
Durante King-McLean of Brampton, Ont., who has been in custody in Pennsylvania since state troopers pulled him over in September 2023, signed the deal earlier this month before it was filed on Friday — pleading guilty to conspiracy to traffic firearms, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison or a fine of $250,000.
The plea agreement must be finalized by a judge. A hearing is scheduled for May 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. It is unclear when he will be sentenced.
When police pulled King-McLean over, they say they found 65 firearms in his vehicle, which they believe were destined for Canada. Peel Regional Police have alleged they were likely purchased with the proceeds of that spring’s gold heist at Pearson International Airport.
Peel police and a draft of the Crown’s case against the suspects in the heist allege King-Mclean was the man behind the wheel of the white van that pulled away from an Air Canada cargo building with more than $20 million worth of gold, plus large amounts of foreign currency.
An internal document obtained by CBC’s The Fifth Estate suggests suspect Arsalan Chaudhary may be the principal planner of the 2023 gold heist at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport — the largest in Canadian history.
He still faces charges of theft over $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime in Canada.
Two other suspects in the heist were also implicated by the U.S. Department of Justice in the arms-trafficking scheme: Archit Grover, who is awaiting trial in Canada, and Prasath Paramalingam, whose whereabouts are unknown.
The Justice Department alleges in court filings that King-McLean illegally entered the U.S., and travelled north from Florida, stopping to buy various weapons with the intent of selling them in Canada.
Paramalingam is accused of helping King-McLean enter the U.S., traffic the firearms, secure money for the scheme and even of helping arrange an Airbnb for him in Florida.
Grover is alleged to have been an accessory to the firearms trafficking.
King-McLean’s plea raises the question of whether he will be extradited to face charges in Canada.
Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General directed questions about what this might mean for the charges King-McLean faces in Canada, and whether he may be returned to the country for trial, to the federal government.
As a general rule, the federal government does not comment on extradition matters while they are in process.
