Canada: Edmonton Police arrest six in extortion case linked to India

Toronto: Police in the city of Edmonton have arrested six persons in connection with alleged extortion-related activity, with the prime suspect believed to be running the operation from India.

As part of Operation Gaslight, to counter extortion targeting Indo-Canadian businesses and individuals in the capital of Alberta, police announced the arrest of six persons and issuance of a Canadawide arrest warrant for the seventh.

In a release on Friday, Edmonton Police Service or EPS said its officers, along with colleagues from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or RCMP searched six locations in the city resulting in the arrest of five males and a female “believed to be involved in the extortion scheme that was targeting South Asian business owners in the Edmonton area.”

They were identified as Jashandeep Kaur, 19, Gurkaran Singh, 19, Manav Heer, 19, Parminder Singh, 21, Divnoor Asht, 19 and a 17-year-old minor male. All of them face “a host of serious criminal charges,” the release said.

Canada-wide warrants have also been issued for Maninder Singh Dhaliwal, 34, who is believed to be the leader of the criminal organization responsible for the extortions.

The accused face a total of 54 charges, including extortion, arson, intentionally discharging a firearm, break and enter, assault with a weapon, as well as a number of charges linked to committing an offence for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization.

EPS is currently investigating 40 episodes of extortion in the city, with charges laid in relation to 26 of them.

“We believe that the individuals identified today represent the core members of this criminal network; however, we know Dhaliwal is actively recruiting other young people,” EPS Organized Crime Branch’s acting director David Paton warned.

“Investigators believe Dhaliwal has been orchestrating the extortions from overseas and EPS is working with our federal and international counterparts, including the (United States) Drug Enforcement Administration, to locate him,” Paton added during a press conference in Edmonton on Friday, according to the outlet Edmonton Journal. That overseas base is believed to be India.

Police added they were in contact with Indian authorities with regard to the ongoing investigation.

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