RCMP investigating missing gold from the mint; employee fired
Posted Apr 27, 2018 11:39:52 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Gold has again gone missing from the Royal Canadian Mint.
The RCMP has been called in to investigate two kilos worth of missing gold plates, worth an estimated $110,000.
The gold was discovered missing following an internal inventory last month and after an administrative review, one person was fired.
This isn't the first time gold has gone missing from the mint.
Three years ago, Leston Lawrence, 35, was accused of stealing gold — piece by piece — over several years by hiding it in his rectum.
Back in November of 2016, Lawrence was convicted of theft by Ontario Court judge Peter Doody, who noted in his ruling the case was based on circumstantial evidence.
The judge said a 30 month penitentiary term was needed to deter others; Lawrence’s lawyer had argued for an 18-month sentence.
Court heard that Lawrence, whose job at the mint involved purifying recently procured gold, sometimes worked alone and out of sight of security cameras in a process that involved creating the pucks.
He worked at the mint from 2008 until March 2015.
In a statement to 1310 NEWS, the Mint says that it is often evaluating their security measures and that it is committed to managing risks to products and facilities.
