Tag Archives: Leston Lawrence

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