The National Post reports in its Thursday edition that after serving 296 days in custody for orchestrating Canada's largest gold heist -- making off with $22.5-million in gold bullion and cash -- Arsalan Chaudhary on Wednesday asked to be released from prison on parole. The Post's Adrian Humphreys writes that Mr. Chaudhary, 44, of Mississauga, Ont., said he and an Air Canada insider jointly organized the audacious 2023 heist of the high-value shipment that had just arrived at Toronto's Pearson International Airport on a flight from Switzerland. He then fled to Dubai when he learned he was a suspect. He has been in custody since Jan. 12, 2026, when he returned from Dubai and was arrested at the same airport where he pulled off the gold heist. He pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000 and was sentenced in April to four years' imprisonment, minus time spent in custody prior to sentencing. At his first parole hearing, Wednesday morning, Mr. Chaudhary told the parole board, "I was an idiot for what I did." He asked to be released on day parole to the home of a relative, where he would have access to a vehicle to get to work at a job he had arranged at a pizza joint. He said he is broke and fears being known as "the gold guy."