Five Indian-origin men charged in Canada over extortion campaign

Five Indian-origin men have been arrested and charged in Canada over an alleged extortion campaign involving shootings, arson, firearms trafficking and drug offenses, according to police and media reports.

The accused, all in their early 20s, were charged after a 16-month investigation into extortion demands made against an auto dealership in June 2025, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement Friday. The demands were followed by two attacks involving arson and shootings at the dealership's Langley and Surrey locations.

The RCMP described the five as foreign nationals. One of them, Sanket Singla, 23, is from India, police said. He was arrested Thursday at Toronto Pearson International Airport after investigators "facilitated his entry" into Canada.

The other four were arrested in Surrey. They are Sahil, 24, Simranjeet Singh, 24, and Harsh, 21, all residents of British Columbia, and Jagdeep Singh, 24, a resident of Ontario. All five remain in custody.

The BC Prosecution Service charged all five with extortion Thursday. Some also face charges related to firearms, arson, explosives and cocaine trafficking.

According to CBC News, Singla and Simranjeet Singh are accused of damaging a vehicle by fire or explosion and throwing Molotov cocktails into the auto shop. Sahil also faces charges of trafficking cocaine and transferring prohibited firearms.

Police seized four firearms, ammunition and magazines, along with suspected fentanyl, cocaine and opium. The RCMP said evidence may be connected to other extortion and violence cases in British Columbia and Alberta, and further charges could follow.

Wider extortion crackdown

The arrests are among a series of cases being investigated by a province-wide extortion task force launched last year, The Canadian Press reported. The cases have largely involved threats against business owners and members of the South Asian community.

Chief Superintendent Duncan Pound of the BC extortion task force said court proceedings would show whether the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was involved, according to the report.

Canada designated the transnational criminal network led by Bishnoi, an Indian gangster held in Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad, as a terrorist entity in September 2025.

Pound said suspects in some cases had claimed links to prominent gangs to increase intimidation, and noted that extortion was also a way of making money.

(With inputs from agencies)