Five Indian-origin men have been arrested and charged in Canada in connection with an alleged extortion campaign involving shootings, arson, firearms trafficking and drug offences, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) reported.The arrests followed a 16-month investigation into an auto dealership whose co-owners reported receiving extortion demands in June 2025.The business was later targeted in two attacks involving arson and shootings at its locations in Langley and Surrey, the RCMP said in a statement on Friday.Police described the five accused as “foreign nationals”, news agency PTI reported. One of the accused, 23-year-old Sanket Singla, is from India. He was arrested on Thursday at Toronto Pearson International Airport after investigators facilitated his entry into Canada, according to the RCMP.The other four accused, Sahil, 24, Simranjeet Singh, 24, Harsh, 21, and Jagdeep Singh, 24, were arrested in Surrey. Sahil, Simranjeet Singh and Harsh are residents of British Columbia, while Jagdeep Singh lives in Ontario. All five remain in custody, police said.The British Columbia Prosecution Service charged all five with extortion on Thursday. Some of the accused also face additional 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 with the intention of destroying or damaging property.Sahil also faces charges of cocaine trafficking and transferring prohibited firearms, the report said. The investigation resulted in the seizure of four firearms, ammunition and magazines, along with suspected fentanyl, cocaine and opium, the RCMP said.Police said evidence gathered during the investigation could be linked to other extortion and violence cases in British Columbia and Alberta. Further charges may follow, they added.The arrests are among a series of cases being investigated following the launch of a province-wide extortion task force last year, The Canadian Press reported. The cases have largely involved threats against business owners and members of the South Asian community, the report added.Chief Superintendent Duncan Pound of the BC extortion task force said it would emerge during court proceedings whether the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was involved in the cases.Pound also said alleged perpetrators in some investigations had claimed links to prominent gangs to increase intimidation, while noting that extortion was also a means of making money.The Canadian government designated the transnational criminal syndicate led by imprisoned Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi as a terrorist entity in September 2025. Bishnoi is currently lodged in Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad.
