Mint worker convicted of smuggling gold in rectum sentenced to 30 months

Leston Lawrence, 35, made only a brief statement before a ruling from Ontario Justice Peter Doody. “I’d just like to say thank you, sir, and that’s it. No further comment.” After which, his puffy jacket still done up, he sat down in the front row. Lawrence was also ordered to repay $190,000, the true market value of the precious metal, which he sold at a discount. Lawrence, an operator in the Mint’s refinery section on Sussex Drive, was convicted Nov. 9 of stealing 22 gold “pucks” during a three-month period that began in December 2014, then reselling them and spending the proceeds. Though the method of escape was never proven, the Mint was satisfied Lawrence must have hidden the pucks — about the diameter of a golf gall — in his rectum as he exited the secure area after his shift. The theory was bolstered by the discovery of vaseline and latex gloves in his personal locker and the fact he set off an archway metal detector 28 times in 41 days, though no gold was ever found on his person. The Mint was so convinced this was the heist method that it had a security officer duplicate the crime. During the test, the first detector was set off but not the second, done with a hand-held device. Court was told that Lawrence was arranging to have a home built in Jamaica and had sent about $35,000 to a contractor in the Caribbean. He had also invested about $34,000 in a commercial fishing boat in Florida. Read the story here 10:26

4 Responses to Mint worker convicted of smuggling gold in rectum sentenced to 30 months

  1. Ec Newell Man says:

    Keistering…….. I believe that is the word that sums up what this individual did which will lead to his involuntary paid government vacation and bright orange jumper for the next two and a half years. There is also a high probability that his body will be well prepared for what comes next in prison. No doubt, a very interesting story to break up the tedious boredom from reading fishing news……

    • Borehead says:

      Oh God Ec! Keistering! he certainly has been working out, and probably will be a very popular fellow in the joint, as it were. You know, when I read the part about the boat in Fla, I thought, ya know? Some guys really will go to extremes to get on a fishing boat. Then I read they get a security guard that’s willing to take one for the team, and recreate the crime in real time! Then I start thinking, did he do this recreation in private, or was there a cheering section screaming “Take one more! Take one more!! That peer pressures a bitch! I hope they minted this guy a Keister Ring. Limited edition, of course.

      • Ec Newell Man says:

        Goes to show you when someone outside the fishing industry has the bright idea of “investing” in a fishing boat! As for the security guard who literally “took one for the team” to recreate the crime….. boy, I just wonder when that was broached at one of the meetings and the look on the security crew there, especially when someone yells out “I will do it!”

      • Joel Hovanesian says:

        Fishing….It’s not just a job, It’s an ADVENTURE!

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