Mastermind of Toronto airport gold heist testifies that PTSD, prison conditions have robbed him of his memory

One of the admitted masterminds behind Canada’s largest gold heist who has been ordered to testify in court against a co-accused — and against his will — said his memory is fried because of PTSD from being kidnapped, poor treatment in prison and a lack of sleep.

Arsalan Chaudhary, who previously pleaded guilty for his role orchestrating the Toronto airport gold heist, was subpoenaed by Crown prosecutors to be the star witness at the trial of Parmpal Sidhu, a former Air Canada employee in the cargo warehouse from where the crate of gold and cash, worth more than $22 million, was stolen in 2023 shortly after it arrived on a flight from Switzerland.

On Tuesday, he told a dramatic story of being one of two key organizers of the successful plot to steal the loot and then of losing his 30 per cent share to kidnappers in Pakistan, where he fled after the heist. The kidnappers, he said, were members of the Pakistani police, who grabbed him and tortured him until he revealed where the gold was hidden. His captors used contacts in Canada to secure the gold before releasing him.

He said the ordeal left him psychologically scarred and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

By midday Tuesday, the first day of Chaudhary’s testimony, Crown prosecutor Jelena Vlacic was already appearing increasingly frustrated by Chaudhary’s answers.

He said he could not recall important names, dates and places.

He said he did not know whether a phone that police seized from his apartment where he lived alone was his, nor could be recall his phone number, or if messages police extracted from the phone were from him, to him, or anything to do with him. She led him through a 34-page print out of text messages, and chats using the encrypted messaging apps Signal and WhatsApp, none of which he said were familiar to him.

Vlacic asked him about a WhatsApp group chat extracted from the phone called “Let’s Roll” from the time of the gold heist.

“Does that group chat name mean anything to you?”

“No, no.”

“Do any of those participant names mean anything to you?”

“No, ma’am.”

He was also asked about two debt lists seized by police that appear to be breakdowns of how the heist profits were divided. He said the lists were make-believe, one just to satisfy his kidnappers in Pakistan.

“It was just a bunch of names that I put on, whatever. It didn’t mean anything,” he said.

Vlacic asked about the name “Hulk” appearing both as a contact name on the phone, in the group chat, and on the debt list.

“Who is Hulk?”

“I don’t know, ma’am,” he said. “I can’t recall this chat, ma’ am.”

What he did recall about the people who had been charged for the gold heist by Peel Regional Police, he told court, is that most of them didn’t know anything about the plan to steal gold.

Vlacic said she planned to ask for permission to cross-examine the witness, a court process that would allow her to challenge her own witness’s testimony.

Judge Gordon Cudjoe said they weren’t at that stage yet and told Vlacic to try again.

All of that preceded Wednesday’s hearing. The day started with little promise of revelations.

Just a few minutes into questioning by Vlacic, Chaudhary interrupted.

“Last night I couldn’t sleep well because I had PTSD from what I’ve gone through,” he said. “My memory is very vague and I have locked out a lot of stuff from my memory.

“If you’d been through that trauma that I’ve been through and been shocked and had bruises, you would probably understand where I’m coming from… Even talking about all of this, you can probably hear from my voice right now. Last night, I couldn’t sleep. I had terrors, night terrors. I couldn’t eat.

“So that’s why I’m not able to help you, but I would like to.”

After a break, Vlacic tried again, but Chaudhary seemed even further from answering.

He said he had been moved from his federal prison of Collins Bay, near Kingston, Ont., to a provincial facility, Maplehurst Correctional Complex, in Milton, Ont., to be closer to court for his testimony. He said he has been at Maplehurst for nearly three weeks and is not getting his medication.

“It has been messing with my memory, especially last night, so I’m not in a very good state of mind to help you remember stuff.

“I’ve been in Maplehurst, living with three people in a cell by a toilet, and I’ve been getting no medical attention. I’ve asked for it. So I’m not in the right state of mind to remember stuff you’re asking me.”

He was asked what would help him settle his state of mind.

“I’m not a doctor, ma’am. I don’t know,” he said. But he did have some ideas: a transfer back to Collins Bay where he could take his meds, and where all of his belongings are, and perhaps allow him to testify by video link instead of in person.

Court took another break.

Afterwards, the judge issued an order for Chaudhary to be returned to Collins Bay, where he could take his medication and get better sleep and then be brought directly to court on Monday to continue his testimony.

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