Officers pulled over a Dodge Charger on May 4 for dangerous driving. What came next took two months to fully unravel.
A search of the vehicle turned up controlled substances and a loaded firearm. Three men were arrested: Safaldeep Singh, 22, Sandeep Singh, 28, and Divianshu Divianshu, 22. All three were charged with drug trafficking and firearms offences. Singh was released on bail.
The investigation did not stop there.
What investigators found at his home
EPS executed two search warrants at Singh's Edmonton residence May 28 and June 23. Both turned up evidence consistent with vehicle re-vinning operations linked to extortion. Re-vinning means replacing a vehicle's identification number to disguise stolen vehicles a method organized crime uses to move assets and generate untraceable cash.
On June 23, Singh was arrested again, charged with trafficking in property obtained by crime, possession of stolen property, and unauthorized possession of a firearm. Once processed in Edmonton, he was transferred to Ontario on Canada-wide warrants for conspiracy to commit murder and extortion.
The For Brothers gang
EPS confirmed Singh has suspected ties to the "For Brothers" gang an organized criminal network linked to shootings and extortions targeting South Asian business owners and community members across the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, and the United States.
Peel Regional Police recently arrested more than a dozen suspects connected to the same network, several linked to violent extortion incidents predominantly targeting South Asian businesses.
What this gang does to its victims
The pattern documented by police across multiple cities is sustained, escalating pressure. It starts with a WhatsApp message or international phone call a demand for payment framed as protection or a debt owed. If the victim refuses or goes to police, it escalates. Arson at business premises. Shootings at homes. Threats against family members abroad.
The targeting of South Asian business owners is deliberate. Gang members exploit cultural pressure fear of community shame, reluctance to involve police, and concern about family members elsewhere being implicated alongside the physical threats. Peel Regional Police have described the network as sophisticated, with members in Canada directing associates abroad through encrypted messaging.
For many victims the choice is stark: pay and hope it stops, or report it and risk escalation before police can act. Project Insight is specifically designed to go after the network rather than individual threats.
Who is being targeted and why Edmonton
Edmonton's South Asian community is one of the fastest growing in Western Canada, with a high concentration of independently owned businesses gas stations, trucking companies, restaurants, convenience stores. These are businesses that deal heavily in cash and are often run by owners with strong family ties abroad.
Extortion networks track that profile deliberately. Edmonton has appeared consistently in national investigations alongside Brampton, Surrey, and Calgary as a priority market for these gangs.
What came before this arrest
This did not come out of nowhere. EPS has been building toward it through two previous investigations.
Project Gaslight ran from 2023 to 2024 and found organized crime groups targeting vacant and under-construction homes in Edmonton as part of international extortion schemes with direct links to India. It established that these networks were using Edmonton as a hub, not just a spillover from Toronto.
Earlier in 2026, a joint EPS and Alberta RCMP operation targeting violent extortion of South Asian business owners led to the deportation of two suspects one described by police as a ringleader. Those deportations ran through CBSA, the same agency now running 484 immigration investigations nationally linked to extortion.
Each investigation fed intelligence into the next. The May 4 traffic stop was not luck.
The national numbers
As of June 18, CBSA had opened 484 immigration investigations nationally linked to extortion activity, issued 139 removal orders, and removed 81 individuals from Canada. In the Prairies alone: 138 investigations, 37 removal orders, 18 removals.
"Individuals who harm our communities and exploit our immigration laws are being held accountable for their actions," said Janalee Bell-Boychuk, Regional Director General of CBSA's Prairie Region.
The money behind the response
Alberta committed $8 million to four provincial police forces to combat organized crime and extortion targeting the South Asian community. EPS is receiving $2.24 million.
What to do if you are targeted
Do not respond to the threats. Call EPS at 780-423-4567 or dial #377 from a mobile device. Keep screenshots, caller ID records, and any documentation of the contact.
The allegations against Singh have not been tested in court.
Sources:
Edmonton Police Service, media release, Man with ties to international extortion network arrested in Edmonton, July 2, 2026 (edmontonpolice.ca)
Staff Sergeant Eric Stewart, EPS Investigations Branch, statement July 2, 2026
Janalee Bell-Boychuk, Regional Director General, CBSA Prairie Region, statement July 2, 2026
Kristine Conroy, assistant director, CBSA Intelligence and Enforcement Operations Division, statement July 2, 2026
