Theft of a C$20 million ($14.84 million) consignment of gold and other valuables from a holding facility at Toronto Pearson International Airport is being investigated by Canadian authorities.

Peel Regional Police Inspector Stephen Duivesteyn told a press conference on Thursday that the cargo was reported missing after arriving on an airplane early Monday evening.

Duivesteyn stated that once the plane touched down, the cargo was unloaded and brought to a holding facility, as is standard practice, but then vanished.

“Subsequent to its arrival this high value cargo was removed by illegal means from the holding facility,” Duivesteyn said.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) said it was aware of the theft, adding that the thieves accessed the public side of a warehouse leased to a third party, outside the GTAA’s primary security line.

The theft “did not involve access to Toronto Pearson itself and did not pose a threat to passengers or GTAA staff”, the GTAA said in a statement late on Thursday.

The cargo was reported missing to police a short time later.

Duivesteyn would not say where the aircraft carrying the cargo had come from, or its final destination.