{
  "id": 15957864,
  "title": "Defence lawyer in Air Canada gold heist case argues lack of evidence against former airline worker",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/defence-lawyer-in-air-canada-gold-heist-case-argues-lack-of-evidence",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-21T21:53:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "CityNews",
    "slug": "citynews",
    "url": "https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/10/21/air-canada-gold-heist-trial/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A former Air Canada Cargo employee, Parmpal Sidhu, faces charges in Canada's largest gold heist case. During the defence lawyer's questioning of a police investigator, the lawyer raised doubts about the credibility of wiretap recordings and highlighted the absence of physical evidence tying Sidhu to the crime. The air waybill used to redirect the shipment of gold was printed with Sidhu's employee login, but beyond that, no other connection to the theft was found. The investigator agreed that handwriting analysis was not conducted on the waybill, and no fingerprints were found on the paper. Additionally, camera footage of the printer area during the heist was not operational. The Crown is attempting to prove that Sidhu was involved in an inside job with his former supervisor, Simran Preet Panesar, who has fled the country and remains a wanted fugitive. The defence argued that Sidhu's behavior on the day of the heist, including numerous calls and messages to his boss and paranoia about credit card debt and phone tapping, could be linked to the mischief charge he was arrested for in January 2024. Sidhu's legal team has decided not to call any witnesses and is optimistic about their chances of a positive outcome. Both sides will make their final arguments, and a judge will deliver a ruling in the coming weeks.",
  "summary": "The Crown has wrapped up its case against a former Air Canada Cargo employee who is accused of participating in the biggest gold heist in Canadian history.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "National Post",
        "title": "Security camera in Air Canada cargo warehouse could have caught insider in Toronto airport gold heist but wasn’t working",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/security-camera-in-air-canada-cargo-warehouse-could-have-caught",
        "published": "2026-10-21T18:50:43.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Punch Nigeria",
        "title": "Defence lawyer claims doctor innocent in Maradona death case",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/defence-lawyer-claims-doctor-innocent-in-maradona-death-case",
        "published": "2026-10-21T22:52:51.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}