Two suspects have been deported while police continue to investigate more than 50 others in relation to a series of extortions involving the South Asian community in the Edmonton area, police said Thursday.
Edmonton police collaborated with law enforcement in Calgary and Peel Region west of Toronto, along with RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) on the investigation. RCMP from British Columbia’s Lower Mainland were also present at the Thursday press conference.
While the apprehensions were made locally, police made it clear that extortion rings are acting nationally.
“We know that this crime type is evolving here in Canada,” said city police Supt. Robinder Gill. “They are constantly evolving in their tactics. The structure of these groups is a tiered predatory network of organized crime where the risk is local, the revenue is global, and the fallout is the erosion of the very trust that holds the Southeast Asian community together.”
He said that a series of extortions came to a halt after two suspects, who cannot be named because of CBSA rules regarding the privacy of immigration cases, were sent packing. A 22-year-old, whom Gill called “a local decision maker” and “ringleader,” and a 25-year-old were sent to an undisclosed country.
Police and CBSA are working to deport three more individuals, while an additional 51 suspects have been identified.
In 2024, the Edmonton Police Service’s Project Gaslight led to the arrests of six people in connection with an alleged extortion ring targeting Edmonton’s South Asian Community. Gill said those busts led to a respite in extortion reports. But, in 2025, EPS became aware of a series of “violent extortion” cases targeting South Asian businesses and its Drug and Gang Enforcement Unit teamed with the RCMP’s Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) and CBSA.
Some of the suspects have been linked to crimes in Calgary, the Lower Mainland and Peel Region, which takes in the Toronto suburbs of Brampton and Mississauga.
Gill beseeched those targeted as either victims, or as potential gang recruits, to break through their fears and come forward to police.
“The organized crime groups exploit the cultural nuances in the language to target the very families who have worked, in some cases, many generations here to build a safe haven in Canada,” said Gill. “So I want to be very clear, you remain a priority to police. I speak to police leaders right across the country on a weekly basis when it comes to extortions, and I can say, unequivocally, this is a priority in every community that is being affected by this. If you are targeted by extortions, you are not alone. We want to hear from you.”
He asked those who come forward to save any evidence that they may have, be it text messages or voice messages, or screenshots of threats.
Why deport rather than prosecute?
Kristine Conroy, the Prairie Region inland enforcement manager for CBSA, said the agency has initiated a total of 372 “extortion-related” investigations. As of March 12, 70 removal orders have been issued, and 35 of those have been completed.
“The success of this co-ordinated operation in Edmonton is a testament to the dedication of the CBSA, the Edmonton Police Service, ALERT and the RCMP to stopping this evolving threat of extortion within our communities nationwide,” she said. “This is a priority for the CBSA.”
She said that CSBA understands that many immigrants aren’t sure of the rules, and worry that reporting crime could put their status in jeopardy.
“For individuals who are considering reporting extortion-related activities, it is important to know that doing so does not automatically place your own immigration status at risk,” she said.
But why did the authorities choose to deport the two suspects rather than proceed with criminal charges?
If charges are pressed, they take precedence over any sort of immigration investigation by CBSA. So, those who enforce Canada’s borders have to stand down as charges are brought forward, evidence is gathered and a court case plays out. If the defendant is found guilty, CBSA can start putting together an immigration case while that person is in prison. But the fact is, deportation gets the suspect out of the country quickly, and that person can’t legally come back. A court case will take a long time.
Gill said that public safety comes “first and foremost,” and that moving the key people out of the country was the best way to alleviate the threats to the South Asian community.
“I would suggest to you that policing is problem-solving at the core,” he said. And deportation was the best way to solve this problem.
International links
The gangs in Canada will use intimidation as a tool, and will tell their targets that they’re affiliated with well-known international crime rings or even political figures.
But are they really affiliated, or just pulling these notorious names to use as threats? That’s hard to prove, said Duncan Pound, assistant district commander and operations officer of the Lower Mainland District RCMP.
“It’s certainly been a pattern across the country that there have been individuals who attribute themselves to international figures, to international organized crime figures, with the goal of increasing the amount of fear and concern that they generate in the victims,” said Pound. “So it’s a much longer process, from a criminal justice perspective, to say that we’re able to gather the evidence that would put a phone in the hand of a certain individual that’s being attributed to making the threats.”
Confirmation requires long-term investigations and collaborations with law enforcement agencies abroad.
Students and foreign workers new to Canada are often targeted by gangs to serve as recruits. There’s the promise of status and money. Gill said police are considering meeting with the leadership of local post-secondary institutions to discuss the threat to international students.
“We also have a message for the individuals who may be vulnerable to recruitment by these criminal networks, including foreign workers and international students. Do not let these criminals steal your future,” said Gill. “They offer a false sense of belonging, but in reality they see you as disposable tools. They will pose as your brothers, but make no mistake, they are your bosses. You will have the least amount to gain, and you carry the greatest risk.”
Gill confirmed that “there is a linkage” between this group and a series of extortions in Parkland County that led to a nationwide arrest warrant for 24-year-old Jagdeep Singh. But Gill said that, as of this moment, there are no credible links to this investigation and a series of fires on infill construction sites, which plagued the city in the autumn.
Those who may have info or tips about extortion crime can contact the CBSA hotline at 1-888-502-9060.
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