Five men have been arrested in connection with the theft of $10 million worth of silver bars that went missing from a shipping container at the Port of Montreal last week.

Police said approximately one third of the 16,000 kilograms of silver has been recovered, after about a dozen raids conducted overnight in homes, warehouses and an industrial property in suburban Montreal.

Tips from the public led to the raids and the arrests of the five men, who are between 35 and 53 years old, police said. At least one of them is known to police.

Three of the men appeared in court Thursday morning and were released. They are expected back in court at a later date. Two other men are expected to appear in court Thursday afternoon.

The arrests come a week after a white 1997 Freightliner was stolen in the city’s west end. Police say the truck was driven to the port where the silver was taken and loaded onto the truck.

Two days later, the container was found empty in Repentigny, Que., which is located just north of Montreal.

The Port of Montreal said it has biometric security measures in place, plus approximately 350 surveillance cameras.

With files from CTV Montreal’s Rob Lurie and Annie Demelt