An Edmonton man was kidnapped at gunpoint, driven two hours to Calgary, and used as a human lure in an extortion scheme the latest and most brazen incident in a series that has now produced 45 police calls since April 2025.
Calgary police announced charges against five men Thursday, calling the May 6 incident a clear escalation.
How It Unfolded
Just before 7 p.m. on May 6, four men showed up at a home in Edmonton. They assaulted the victim, threatened him at gunpoint, and forced him into a vehicle headed south on the QE2. Their destination was a home in Cityscape, a northeast Calgary community. More suspects were already there, staged and waiting.
The plan was to use the kidnapped man to get his friend the actual extortion target to step outside. He refused. He was assaulted again. While the suspects waited outside, the friend and his wife tried to leave. They were followed and confronted at gunpoint before retreating inside and calling police.
Officers spotted a suspect vehicle nearby and made two arrests during a traffic stop near Metis Trail and 104 Avenue NE. The remaining suspects loaded the victim back into the car and drove him to Edmonton, dropping him near his home in the early hours of May 7. He called police as soon as he was released.
On May 12, investigators arrested two more suspects during a traffic stop in the 600 block of Martindale Boulevard NE with help from the CPS Tactical Team. A privately-manufactured firearm was seized.
Who's Charged
Taranveer Singh, 24, and Daksh Gautam, 25, both of Calgary, each face two counts of pointing a firearm, unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle, kidnapping with a firearm, unlawful confinement, assault with a weapon, and assault. Akashdeep Singh, 18, and Pardeep Singh, 24, also of Calgary, face kidnapping with a firearm, pointing a firearm, unlawful confinement, assault with a weapon, and assault. A fifth suspect, Gagandeep Singh, 29, remains wanted. He has a tattoo of a woman on his right forearm and a blue and red eagle on his left, and has known connections to Calgary, Ontario, and B.C.
45 Incidents. 19 Shootings. One Year.
Thursday's arrests come against a backdrop that has shaken Calgary's South Asian community for over a year. Since April 2025, police have recorded 45 extortion-related incidents in the city. Nineteen involved shootings at homes, businesses, or vehicles. Eleven people have been charged to date.
"This is a significant escalation in violence in the extortion incidents that we have seen in Calgary so far," said Supt. Jeff Bell of the CPS Criminal Operations and Intelligence Division. "Since this series began, we have been working very closely with our policing partners nationally to share information and co-ordinate our response, which allowed us to quickly make arrests in this case."
Police thanked the Edmonton Police Service and Canada Border Services Agency for their support in the investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call 403-266-1234 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 or calgarycrimestoppers.org. Police have also set up a dedicated extortion tip line at extortion@calgarypolice.ca.
Victims of extortion are urged not to pay and to contact police immediately.
Sources: Calgary Police Service Media Release, May 15, 2026 — Case #CA26194619
