Key witness in Pearson gold heist trial says PTSD causes memory lapses
Arsalan Chaudhary, already sentenced for his role, testified he cannot recall conversations with the accused about the $22 million airport theft.
BRAMPTON — A man sentenced for his role in the multimillion-dollar Toronto Pearson airport gold heist testified Monday he cannot remember key conversations with the accused due to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Arsalan Chaudhary returned to the witness stand in a Brampton, Ont., court in the trial of Parmpal Sidhu, who has pleaded not guilty to theft over $5,000 and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
Chaudhary testified Monday morning that he told Sidhu the truck and driver were ready on the day of the heist and that Sidhu replied, “OK.”
READ MORE: Man accused of Halifax U.S. consulate bomb threat derails court hearing
READ MORE: U.S. court denies bail to alleged Tumbler Ridge shooting co-conspirator
But when the Crown asked about his previous sworn statement that he spoke with Sidhu three times by phone on April 17, 2023, Chaudhary said he cannot remember those conversations.
“I wasn’t trying to remember my past. I was trying to move on,” Chaudhary said. “The things the Crown and judge appointed me to do … the correctional plan, I was following that and I was trying to move forward with my life.”
The Crown also asked about his past statement that he discussed logistics of the heist with Sidhu, and Chaudhary again said he cannot remember.
He attributed his memory lapses to PTSD and said he needs mental health treatment.
“I’m not sure how PTSD works,” he said. “The counsellor told me that (memory loss) does happen and if we work on it together, you will get better.”
Chaudhary’s testimony was paused last week after he said recalling his alleged abduction in Pakistan had left him traumatized.
Superior Court Justice Gordon Cudjoe issued an order to return Chaudhary to the Collins Bay Institution, a federal prison in Kingston, Ont., where he is serving his sentence, and bring him back to court Monday.
Chaudhary told the court last week he had been held at Maplehurst Correctional Complex for about three weeks without his prescribed medications, including melatonin and vitamins.
Chaudhary was sentenced this spring to four years in prison after pleading guilty to theft over $5,000, and he was given 40 years to pay back $22 million in restitution.
He told the court last week he planned the heist with another man who is still wanted by authorities, and he took 30 per cent of boxes full of one-ounce gold bars.
He said he melted some of the gold before travelling to Pakistan, where he was kidnapped and abused until he gave up the loot.
Prosecutors allege Sidhu, an Air Canada employee at the time, provided a doctored waybill that allowed another man to pick up more than $22 million in gold and currency from a Pearson airport cargo bay.
Peel regional police have said 6,600 gold bars weighing more than 400 kilograms were stolen from the airport after the shipment arrived from Switzerland.
With files from The Canadian Press, CityNews and CBC News