Defendant Illegally Entered U.S. in 2023 After Allegedly Helping to Steal Millions in Gold Bars from Toronto Airport HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Durante King-Mclean, 27, of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, was sentenced to 160 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Jennifer P. Wilson for conspiring with others to illegally traffic in firearms. King-Mclean pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to illegally traffic firearms on May 14, 2025. The charges stem from a Sept. 2, 2023, traffic stop by the Pennsylvania State Police in Franklin County of a rental vehicle operated by King-Mclean who was the only occupant of the vehicle. During the stop King-Mclean fled on foot and was apprehended after a brief foot chase. A subsequent search of the rental vehicle led to the recovery of 65 handguns in the vehicle’s trunk that were all individually concealed in socks. Of the 65 handguns that were recovered, two were fully automatic, 11 were stolen, and one had an obliterated serial number. King-Mclean had been in communication with his co-conspirators from April of 2023 until his arrest on September 2, 2023, and had been staying at an Airbnb in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, until he rented the vehicle at the end of August 2023 and headed north towards Canada with the illegally purchased handguns. Sometime after his arrest and incarceration on Sept. 2, 2023, King-Mclean was charged by Canadian authorities for his alleged participation in the April 17, 2023, heist of millions of dollars in gold bars and foreign currency from the Air Canada cargo terminal at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. It was shortly after this heist that King-Mclean illegally entered the United States where he remained until his arrest on Sept. 2, 2023, as he was headed back to Canada with the 65 handguns.“Firearms trafficking is a serious crime that puts guns in the hands of the criminals that terrorize our communities in the United States and Canada,” said Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Eric J. DeGree for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Philadelphia Field Division. “King-Mclean’s lengthy sentence reflects the seriousness of his crime and shows the heavy penalties perpetrators can expect. This case also demonstrates the strength of our cooperation with our local and international law enforcement partners to protect our communities from violent gun crime.”“Trafficking dozens of illegal firearms across our border is a serious offense with far-reaching consequences. The conviction of Durante King-Mclean underscores the serious threat posed by firearms traffickers, whose actions fuel violence in communities both here and in Canada,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) Philadelphia Nathan Abel. “HSI is steadfast in its commitment to work with our federal, state, and international partners to dismantle cross-border criminal networks and ensure that individuals like King-Mclean are held fully accountable for their crimes.”This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children…
Source: U.S. Department of Justice