9 are facing charges in what police in Canada say is the biggest gold theft in the country's history

TORONTO (AP) — Police said nine people are facing charges in what authorities are calling the biggest gold theft in Canadian history from Toronto’s Pearson International airport a year ago.

Peel Regional Police said Wednesday that 6,600 gold bars worth more than 20 million Canadian dollars ($14.5 million), and CA$2.5 million ($1.8 million) in foreign currencies were stolen. The gold was melted down and used to purchase illegal firearms, police said.

Those charged include an Air Canada warehouse employee and a former Air Canada manager who gave police a tour of cargo of the facility after the theft. A jewelry store owner is also charged.

“This story is a sensational one and which probably, we jokingly say, belongs in a Netflix series,” Peel Regional Chief Nishan Duraiappah said.

Peel Regional Detective Sgt. Mike Mavity said the gold bars, weighing 419 kilograms (923 pounds), and foreign currency, ordered from a refinery in Zurich, Switzerland, were transported in the haul of an Air Canada flight on April 17 last year.

He said that late afternoon a truck driver arrived at the airline’s cargo warehouse with a fraudulent bill that was provided to an airline warehouse attendant.

Mavity said a bill for seafood that was picked up the day before was used to pick up the gold. The duplicate bill was printed off at the Air Canada warehouse, he said.

“They needed people within Air Canada to facilitate this theft,” Mavity said in front of the truck police say was used in the theft.

Mavity said police are searching for the Air Canada manager who gave police a tour of the facility in the days after the theft. He said that manager left his job last summer and said they have an idea of where he is.

Mavity said some of the suspects were known to police and some were not. He said they seized six crudely made bracelets made of gold.

“I don’t think I ever imagined they would have to deal with the largest gold heist in Canadian history,” said Patrick Brown, the mayor of Brampton, Ontario. “It’s almost out of an 'Ocean’s Eleven' movie or CSI.”

Air Canada employee Parmpal Sidhu, 54, from Brampton, Ontario, jewelry store owner Ali Raza, 37, from Toronto, Amit Jalota, 40, a Oakville, Ontario resident, Ammad Chaudhary, 43, from Georgetown, Ontario and Prasath Paramalingam, 35, from Brampton are among those that have been arrested. Mavity said they have been released on bail conditions and will be in court at a later date.

Mavity said the truck driver that allegedly picked up the gold, Durante King-Mclean, a 25-year-old from Brampton, is currently in custody in the U.S. on firearms and trafficking related charges.

Police are searching for former Air Canada manager Simran Preet Panesar, 31, from Brampton as well as Archit Grover, 36, from Brampton and Arsalan Chaudhary, 42, from Mississauga Ontario.

Peel Regional Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said only CA$90,000 ($65,000) of the more than CA$20 million has been recovered.

U.S. ATF Special Agent, Eric DeGree, said King-Mclean, was arrested in Pennsylvania after a traffic stop and that led to the seizure of 65 illegal firearms that were allegedly destined to be smuggled into Canada. DeGree said he tried to flee after police discovered the firearms in his rental car.

Brinks, an American cash handling company, arrived at the airport cargo facility the night of April 17 to pick up the gold and were told the gold and currency was missing after a search.

Brinks sued Air Canada over the theft last year. According to the company’s filing last year, a thief walked away with the costly cargo after presenting a fake document at an Air Canada warehouse on April 17.

In a Nov. 8 statement of defense, Air Canada rejected “each and every allegation” in the Brink’s lawsuit, saying it fulfilled its carriage contracts and denying any improper or “careless” conduct.

The country’s largest airline also said Brink’s failed to note the value of the haul on the waybill — a document typically issued by a carrier with details of the shipment — and that if Brink’s did suffer losses, a multilateral treaty known as the Montreal Convention would cap Air Canada’s liability.

In Federal Court filings that claim breach of contract and millions of dollars in damages, Brinks said an “unidentified individual” gained access to the airline’s cargo warehouse and presented a “fraudulent” waybill shortly after an Air Canada flight from Zurich landed at Pearson.

The statement of the claim says the staff then handed over 400 kilograms of gold in the form of 24 bars plus nearly $2 million in cash to the thief, who promptly “absconded with the cargo.”

DeGree said dozens of firearms were seized, including two fully automatic weapons and five guns that were untraceable.

“I'm proud to say that we successfully put an international gun trafficking operation out of business. We kept 65 firearms off the streets of Canada and prevented them from being used in any number of crimes,” DeGree said.

Mavity said that “we believe they melted down the gold and with the profits they got from the gold they used to purchase illegal firearms."

A truck used to transport stolen gold is displayed at a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

A truck used to transport stolen gold is displayed at a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

A truck used to transport stolen gold is displayed at a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

ATF Special Agent in Charge, Eric DeGree, speaks to the media at a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Investigators stand during a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Peel Police Board Chair Nando Iannicca speaks to the media at a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Peel Police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich speaks to the media at a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Peel Police Detective Sergeant Mike Mavity speaks to the media at a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Chief Nishan Duraiappah, left to right, Detective Sergeant Mike Mavity, Peel Regional Police Det. Gord Oakes and ATF Special Agent in Charge, Eric DeGree pose in front of a recovered truck during a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Police officers open the back of a recovered truck during a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Police officers open the back of a recovered truck during a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Police officers open the back of a recovered truck during a press conference regarding Project 24K a joint investigation into the theft of gold from Pearson International Airport, in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Two Broadway shows celebrating the spark of sonic creativity — the musical “Hell’s Kitchen” fueled by Alicia Keys songs, and the play "Stereophonic" about a '70s rock band at the edge of stardom — each earned a leading 13 Tony Award nominations Tuesday, a list that also saw a record number of women nominated for best director.

“This is totally crazy. It took me about an hour to get myself together. I couldn’t even formulate words,” Keys said after her special morning where the show loosely based on her life was nominated for best new musical and four acting awards as well as best scenic design, costumes, lighting, sound design, direction, choreography and orchestrations. “This is unbelievable. This is so special. All of the collaborators that have been a part of this process, everybody being able to get recognized for their beautiful brilliance. I am totally at a loss for words. Don't ask me to write a song.”

A total of 28 shows earned a Tony nod or more, with the musical “The Outsiders,” an adaptation of the beloved S. E. Hinton novel and the Francis Ford Coppola film, earning 12 nominations; a starry revival of “Cabaret” starring Eddie Redmayne, nabbing nine; and "Appropriate," Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ searing play about a family reunion in Arkansas where everyone has competing motivations and grievances, grabbing eight.

The nominations marked a smashing of the Tony record for most women named in a single season. The 2022 Tony Awards had held the record for most female directing nominees, with four total across the two races — musical and play. Only 10 women have gone on to win a directing crown.

This year, three women were nominated for best play direction — Lila Neugebauer (“Appropriate”), Anne Kauffman (“Mary Jane”) and Whitney White (“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”) — while four were nominated in the musical category — Maria Friedman (“Merrily We Roll Along“), Leigh Silverman (“Suffs”) Jessica Stone (“Water for Elephants”) and Danya Taymor (“The Outsiders”).

“The one thing I feel is it’s starting to feel less remarkable, which is great news,” Stone said after her nomination. “We are directors and not women directors. I’m noticing it more and more and that’s a wonderful thing to think about. It’s a wonderful place to be."

“Stereophonic,” which became the most-nominated play in Tony history, earned nominations for playwright David Adjmi and for its songs by Will Butler, formerly of Arcade Fire. It's the story of a Fleetwood Mac-like band over a life-changing year, with personal rifts opening and closing and then reopening. Butler says it is about art's “horror and its beauty.”

An album of the rock-roots music heard during the play will be available next month and Butler has high hopes: “We wanted it to stand up against Tom Petty and ‘Rumors’ and the new Beyoncé country record,” he said. “Making it was its own reward.”

Rachel McAdams, making her Broadway debut in “Mary Jane,” earned a best actress in a play nomination, while “Succession” star Jeremy Strong, got his first ever nomination, for a revival of “An Enemy of the People” and Liev Schreiber of “Ray Donovan” fame nabbd one for leading "Doubt." Jessica Lange in “Mother Play,” Sarah Paulson in “Appropriate” and Amy Ryan, who stepped in at the last minute for a revival of “Doubt,” also earned nominations in the best actress in a play category.

"The Big Bang Theory" star Jim Parsons earned a supporting nod for “Mother Play,” and Daniel Radcliffe on his fifth Broadway show, a revival of Stephen Sondheim's “Merrily We Roll Along,” won his first nomination.

Radcliffe, caring for his infant son on Tony nominations morning, said he felt incredibly lucky and called being in the musical alongside Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez — both also nominated — “one of the most special experiences of my professional career.”

“I have always felt like doing stage and particularly doing it here has been such a huge part of my career and sort of like finding out who I was as an actor outside of Harry Potter,” he said. “I think it’s kind of been the making of me.”

Redmayne in his second show on Broadway got a nod as best lead actor in a musical, as did Brian d’Arcy James for “Days of Wine and Roses,” Brody Grant in “The Outsiders,” Jonathan Groff in “Merrily We Roll Along” and 73-year-old Dorian Harewood in “The Notebook,” the adaptation of Nicholas Sparks romantic tearjerker. Harewood, in his first Broadway show in 46 years, landed his first Tony nomination.

It was one of three nominations for “The Notebook,” but the musical’s composer, Ingrid Michaelson, didn’t earn a nomination, nor did Barry Manilow for his show “Harmony.” A revival of “The Wiz” also failed to garner any nominations.

Redmayne's “Cabaret” co-star Gayle Rankin earned a nomination for best actress in a musical, as did Eden Espinosa in “Lempicka,” Maleah Joi Moon in “Hell’s Kitchen,” Kelli O’Hara in “Days of Wine and Roses” and 71-year-old Maryann Plunkett, who plays the elderly wife at the heart of “The Notebook.”

Steve Carell in his Broadway debut in a poorly received revival of the classic play “Uncle Vanya” failed to secure a nod, but starry producers who earned Tony nods include Keys, Angelina Jolie (for “The Outsiders”) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (for “Suffs”).

The best new musical crown will be a battle between “Hell's Kitchen,” “The Outsiders,” the dance-heavy, dialogue-less stage adaptation of Sufjan Stevens’s 2005 album “Illinois,” “Suffs,” based on the American suffragists of the early 20th century, and “Water for Elephants,” which combines Sara Green’s 2006 bestseller with circus elements.

The best new play Tony will pit “Stereophonic” against “Mother Play,” Paula Vogel’s play about a mother and her kids spanning 1964 to the 21st century; “Mary Jane,” Amy Herzog’s humanistic portrait of a divorced mother of a young boy with health issues; “Prayer for the French Republic,” Joshua Harmon’s sprawling family comedy-drama that deals with Zionism, religious fervency and antisemitism; and “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,” Jocelyn Bioh’s comedy about the lives of West African women working at a salon.

Lamar Richardson, an actor-turned-producer, had many reasons to smile Tuesday. He helped produce the new revivals of “The Wiz, "“Merrily We Roll Along“ and “Appropriate.”

“I really think this is Broadway at its best,” he said. “There’s really something for everyone. There’s the quintessential big jukebox musical. There’s the niche moving three-hander plays. I think that this really is a smorgasbord of what Broadway can offer up, and showing it still, of course, is a major player on the art scene. And it’s here to stay.”

A spring barrage of new shows — 14 shows opened in an 11-day span this year — is not unusual these days as producers hope their work will be fresh in the mind of voters ahead of the Tony Awards ceremony on June 16.

There were some firsts this season, including “Here Lies Love” with Broadway's first all-Filipino cast, which earned four nominations, including best original score for David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim. And seven openly autistic actors starred in “How to Dance in Ohio,” a first for Broadway but which got no Tony love.

Academy Award winner and Tony Award-nominee Ariana DeBose, who hosted both the 2023 and 2022 ceremonies, will be back this year and will produce and choreograph the opening number.

This year’s location — the David H. Koch Theater — is the home of New York City Ballet and in the same sprawling building complex as Lincoln Square Theater, which houses the Broadway venue Beaumont Theater.

Like last year, the three-hour main telecast will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ from 8 p.m.-11 p.m. EDT/5 p.m.-8 p.m. PDT with a pre-show on Pluto TV, and some Tony Awards handed out there.

This season's Broadway numbers — about $1.4 billion in grosses and 11.1 million tickets — is running slightly less than the 2022-23 season, off about 4% in grosses and down 1% in tickets.

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

This image released by O&M/DKC shows promotional art for "Stereophonic." (Julieta Cervantes/O&M/DKC via AP)

This image released by Polk & Co. shows Kecia Lewis, left, and Maleah Joi Moon during a performance of "Hell's Kitchen." (Marc J. Franklin/Polk & Co. via AP)

This image released by Polk & Co. shows Maleah Joi Moon, left, and Chris Lee during a performance of "Hell's Kitchen." (Marc J. Franklin/Polk & Co. via AP)

This image released by Boneau/Bryan-Brown shows, from left, Alison Luff, Olive Ross-Kline and Adam Jacobs during a performance of "The Who's Tommy." (Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman/Boneau/Bryan-Brown via AP)

This image released by Boneau/Bryan-Brown shows Maryann Plunkett, left, and Dorian Harewood during a performance of "The Notebook." (Julieta Cervantes/Boneau/Bryan-Brown via AP)

This image released by Boneau/Bryan-Brown shows Ryan Vasquez, right, and Joy Woods during a performance of "The Notebook." (Julieta Cervantes/Boneau/Bryan-Brown via AP)

FILE - The stage appears before the start of the 75th annual Tony Awards on June 12, 2022 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)