U.S. court case details encrypted conversations about gold heist

Theft from Pearson airport shows how criminals are using encrypted app

- PETER EDWARDS

Police allege Durante King-McLean was the driver of the van, seen above, that transported gold from Pearson airport in 2023.

Suspects in the largest gold robbery in Canadian history used a little-known encrypted messaging platform called “Threema” to communicate while attempting to buy dozens of illegal weapons, according to American authorities.

The encrypted Threema platform reportedly saw a rise in popularity in the underworld globally amid reports that the FBI had used the rival Anom platform in its investigations, tapping into criminal messaging.

The case is an early example of the increased popularity of Threema after Anom lost credibility with criminals.

Messaging on Threema was the preferred method of communication for some suspects in the $24 million theft of gold bars and cash on April 17, 2023, from a warehouse at Pearson International Airport, U.S. authorities say.

“Threema is a paid cross-platform encrypted messaging application developed in Switzerland,” an American indictment against Durante King-McLean, 25, of Brampton — one of the accused in the Pearson gold heist — states.