Canada: Five Persons Charged For Extortion Attempts, Targeting South Asian Community

Police have charged five people in the Toronto region and are probing 29 incidents of extortion as part of a “disturbing trend” that has terrorised the South Asian community in Canada.

Police said it executed a search warrant at a residence in the City of Brampton and charged four individuals including Gagan Ajit Singh (23), Anmoldeep Singh (23), Hashmeet Kaur (25) and Iymanjot Kaur (21).

“The Peel Regional Police Extortion Investigative Task Force (EITF), with the support of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), executed a search warrant resulting in the arrest of four individuals concerning recent incidents that occurred throughout the Greater Toronto Area since December 2023,” the regional police said in a statement. These incidents included mischief to property, threats, and firearms-related offences, it added.

Last month, the Edmonton Police Service said it was investigating 27 incidents in the South Asian community since October, including five extortions, 15 arsons and seven firearms offences, with millions in property damage connected to the crimes.

At a press conference, Supt. Shelley Thompson on Wednesday said a total of 24 charges have been laid in relation to the 29 extortion attempts under investigation. The targeted businesses vary but include restaurants and bakeries, trucking and transport companies and independent used car dealerships, all with South Asian owners, Thompson was quoted as saying by CBC News. The owners are contacted either by phone, social media apps or video calling services like WhatsApp, the outlet added.

Earlier, police in Edmonton alleged that a “criminal network” in India is behind extortion attempts in that city. Thompson said Peel police have “open lines” of communication with law enforcement agencies in India, but that there are no official ties to that country at this stage. “We’re still trying to sift through stuff to see if there’s a connection to India. Right now with the information that we have, that we are working with, there is not,” she told reporters.