When Calgary police first started investigating reports of extortion targeting South Asians in the city, it took some time to see the full picture. 

Already, it had emerged as a major issue in Ontario and British Columbia. Now that police knew it was happening here, they had to revisit the timeline.

“We actually went back and we actually did a little bit of an analytical review to say, like, did we miss some at the beginning?” said Supt. Jeff Bell. 

“It’s only within the last year and a bit that it has come to Calgary, but it’s come with a little bit of fury.”

Police count 41 extortion attempts since January 2025. Eighteen of those were shootings, where gunmen opened fire at homes, cars or businesses, with the goal of intimidating victims to coerce money from them.  

And they rank the issue as a top priority for the force. 

“Bullets are flying in the streets and we have to prevent that violence,” Bell said at an April 3 news conference. So far, no one has been hurt.

This month, the Calgary Police Service (CPS) announced their first two arrests in the investigation. On April 1, charges were announced against 45-year-old Rana Cheema; on April 3, charges were laid against 21-year-old Jaskaran Singh. 

Investigators know there are other suspects still at large. The trouble lies in finding them, and getting the evidence needed to lay charges.

Not like on TV 

One of the challenges is the encrypted messaging services these criminals use, with messages that can disappear in a short time. 

To try to track it, Bell said police must get a search request approved by the court, and then they’re at the mercy of telecom companies to provide the info they need.

It’s not like it seems on television, Bell said. It’s a complicated process that takes time — and by then, the offenders might have moved on, or investigators could have missed an opportunity to check out CCTV, for example.  

Jaskaran Sandhu, with the World Sikh Organization, says catching those responsible can be a “whack-a-mole” situation. 

There’s also the matter of determining who exactly is pulling the strings. Calgary police say some offenders have claimed ties to the Lawrence Bishnoi Gang, now designated a “terrorist entity” in Canada.

Bell said police have not made any definitive connections between the crimes in Calgary and the notorious gang operating out of India. 

In a statement, the province said it is tracking the links between these local incidents and transnational crime groups, including the Bishnoi Gang.

But police have also raised the concern of copycats, who may sense an opportunity to make a quick buck by targeting a scared and vulnerable community. 

That’s part of why police are holding some details back, Bell said — to weed out the imitators from the more organized groups.

Reluctance to report crimes

Getting victims to come forward can also be tough. Some fear retaliation, or might worry about reporting to authorities if their immigration status is in question, Bell said.  

“There’s also a degree of frustration from members of the community that, you know, even if we say something or we complain, nothing happens,” said Sandhu. 

Bell noted the narrative put forward by the Bishnoi Gang is that they’re a Robin Hood group, taking from rich people who’ve made their money from dubious means. 

He stressed that’s not how CPS sees things, but says some victims could worry about a cloud of suspicion over their own heads. 

Galib Bhayani, a former RCMP superintendent in B.C., says it’s important for police to be upfront with community members about what the process will look like, if and when they come forward. 

“We’re going to seize your phone. We’re going to take that information from you. We’re going to report back to you every seven days, to tell you what’s going on, to keep you informed,” said Bhayani, who is now a professor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, B.C.

“Extortion thrives in fear and silence, we know that.” 

Communities on edge

Police generally refer to the crimes affecting South Asians, but it is predominately Sikhs experiencing the brunt of it, said Sandhu. 

“It’s all by design to destabilize the Sikh community, to foster a discord within the community and outside the community, and to polarize communities against each other,” he said. 

The Sikh Students’ Association at the University of Calgary has heard from students about their families being targeted, said executive member Simran Kaur. 

She says that puts a huge stressor on them that can affect their studies.

It can also pressure students to change their social schedules to avoid being out alone late at night, said Manveer Singh Lalri, also with the association.

And he worries it could affect ambitions in the community more broadly. Call it a self-imposed glass ceiling, where some might try to limit their own successes. 

“A lot of Sikh students at University of Calgary come from business-oriented families,” Lalri said.  

“People refrain from trying to grow their business too much, because of the fear that if you get too big, if you get too well-known, then this extortion threat is a predetermined thing that will come towards you.”

How they operate

There are networks set up in many major Canadian cities that criminals can bounce between, said Bhayani.

“And then they obviously don’t know who they’re targeting. So they’re given the names, they’re given the list of these homes we need you to go to,” he said.

In some cases, perpetrators may have come to Canada on temporary visas, he said. In other cases, there is recruitment on the ground, enticing or coercing people in financial need.

Edmonton police recently said networks are targeting newly-arrived South Asian workers and students.

Singh, one of the two men arrested by CPS, was here from India on a student visa, having completed his studies, according to police. 

Sandhu says he has heard it’s often young people who are hired, and for relatively small sums — maybe a couple of thousand dollars for a hit.

Bell said police are not fully versed on how the recruitment might be happening, but said it can target people in vulnerable situations. In the case of students, they could be more naïve about what’s fully going on, he said.

“Often people come to Canada and they don’t have the friendship, the networking system that they would want. And so that in itself makes people vulnerable, because a group of people coming in and promising a lifestyle is no different than other gangs that we’ve had,” said Bell. 

Going forward

Calgary police have two ongoing operations: Orion, which encompasses the investigations, and Outage, which focuses on the community outreach side, with increased police presence in communities at risk.

In a statement, the press secretary to Alberta’s public safety minister urged victims not to pay the criminals, and instead come forward to police. Arthur Green said the provincial government is working closely with local law enforcement, and is in direct contact with Ottawa on the issue. 

“These criminal syndicates operate globally, but they will find no sanctuary in Alberta,” said Green. 

The federal government has announced measures to utilize the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) to help police track and combat extortion.

Bell said after police announced the first arrest, their phones lit up with tips. Ultimately, that’s what they need. 

“We don’t know what we don’t know. And so if people don’t bring that information to us, if they don’t report this to us, it makes it very hard and very challenging to investigate and to solve the issue,” he said.