For years, South Asian business owners in Edmonton have lived under the threat of extortion facing demands for money through WhatsApp, backed by the very real possibility of arson, drive-by shootings, and violence if they didn't pay. On Thursday, Edmonton police and federal partners announced the latest breakthrough in the fight to stop it.
Two men have been deported from Canada and 51 additional suspects identified as part of a joint investigation into an organized extortion network targeting Edmonton's South Asian community.
How It Started
Edmonton police first confronted this problem in the fall of 2023, when a wave of violent threats, arsons and shootings began hitting South Asian home builders and business owners across the city. That investigation known as Project Gaslight ran through 2024 and concluded with six arrests and a warrant issued for a seventh suspect.
But the problem didn't go away. By spring 2025, a fresh cluster of extortion incidents emerged, prompting the EPS Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement (EDGE) Unit to launch a new investigation. Alberta RCMP began seeing similar incidents in communities surrounding Edmonton at the same time.
The two investigations merged into a joint forces operation under the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT), supported by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
Who Was Deported
Five suspects operating in the Edmonton area were identified early in the investigation. The two most significant a 22-year-old described by police as the local ringleader and a 25-year-old associate were referred to the CBSA, found to be inadmissible to Canada, and removed from the country. Police did not confirm their identities or disclose where they were deported to. Three other suspects from that group remain under active immigration investigation.
An additional 51 suspects have since been linked to the criminal network. Some have connections extending to Calgary, the B.C. Lower Mainland, and Ontario. Police also seized four vehicles and nine firearms during the investigation.
Why Deport Before Charging?
EPS Superintendent Robinder Gill said the decision came down to speed and public safety. Getting the men out of the country was faster than waiting for criminal cases to move through the courts and victims were still being terrorized in the meantime.
Not everyone agrees with that approach. Kash Heed, a former B.C. minister of public safety and former police officer, said publicly that the men were effectively sent home without serving real time in Canada.
Nationally, the CBSA has opened 372 extortion-related immigration investigations. As of March 12, 70 removal orders have been issued across the country, with 35 people already removed from Canada 51 of those national investigations are directly tied to Edmonton.
How Edmonton Businesses Are Being Targeted
The extortion scheme works through messaging apps like WhatsApp. Business owners receive threats demanding large cash payments. When those demands go unmet, the consequences have included arsons and shootings crimes that have left real damage across Edmonton neighbourhoods and shaken the confidence of an entire community.
EPS Supt. Gill described the criminal structure bluntly: the risk is local, the revenue is global, and the damage is the erosion of trust within Edmonton's South Asian community itself.
The network doesn't just recruit career criminals. Investigators have found that newly-arrived young South Asian foreign workers and students are being pulled in some as direct participants in extortion, others in supporting roles like filing false vehicle theft reports while handing their cars over to the network.
"Claiming ignorance is not a defense," said Acting Staff Sergeant Darren Coon of the EPS EDGE Unit. "You could face criminal charges, jail time, and/or removal from the country."
If You're Targeted
Police urge anyone who receives an extortion demand to:
Do not respond to the threatening communication
Screenshot all incoming calls and messages immediately
Contact police right away
If concerned for your immediate safety, get to a trusted friend or family member's home until police can reach you
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information can contact the Edmonton Police Service at mediarelations@edmontonpolice.ca or call 911 if in immediate danger.
Sources:
Edmonton Police Service — Police and partners working to end extortion affecting South Asian community (March 19, 2026): https://www.edmontonpolice.ca/News/MediaReleases
