Police report arrests in extortion attempt to 'terrorise' Peel region

Police in Peel Region are investigating 29 separate extortion attacks against South Asian business owners, which Brampton's mayor says is “horrifying” the community.

Investigators announced the investigation as part of the newly formed Extortion Investigation Team (EITF) at a press conference Wednesday and identified five suspects arrested in connection with three alleged incidents in the Greater Toronto Area since December 2023.

Task force leader Supt. Shelley Thompson said of the 29 cases being investigated, nine incidents involved shots fired at local businesses, with multiple shots being fired. There are no casualties.

Speaking alongside Peel Police Chief Nishan Durayappa, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said the five arrests were a “huge victory” for public safety in the region.

“It scared the crap out of our community. This scared the South Asian community,” he said.

The four suspects, identified by police as Gagan Ajit Singh, 23, Anmoldeep Singh, 23, Hashmeet Kaur, 25, and Laimanjot Kaur, 21, of Brampton and Mississauga, have been charged in connection with two recent crimes. incidents of extortion, police said.

Durayappa said a Jan. 24 search of a Brampton residence linked to the same suspects resulted in the seizure of firearms, ammunition, an undisclosed amount of cash, numerous computers and about 50 cell phones.

A fifth suspect, identified by police as 39-year-old Arundeep Thind, is facing separate charges in connection with the Jan. 26 extortion incident.

“This now takes the total number of charges filed by the extortion probe team to 24,” Durayappa said. “Despite the success the team is seeing, it must be said that our work is not done yet. We will continue to devote the necessary resources to keep this community safe and prevent this trend from continuing.”

According to Thompson, all 29 cases under investigation have similarities. He said the targeted businesses are from South Asia and include restaurants, bakeries, trucking and transportation companies, independent used car dealers and jewelry stores.

Suspects typically contact victims by phone or social media and demand cash or wire transfers in Canadian currency or Indian rupees with threats of violence, he said.

Police believe the number of incidents currently under investigation may be underreported due to victims' fear of suspects. In addition, Brown said some victims don't call police because they pay off suspects.

“Obviously, people are paying,” Brown said. “People are being victimized, otherwise it wouldn't happen again in Peel, Canada and the United States, so if these crimes don't go down, they're going to continue to thrive, they're going to continue to grow.”

Last month, Brown and Surrey's mayor wrote an open letter urging the federal government to do more to tackle what they described at the time as an “alarming” rise in extortion threats in the two cities.

Brown said he has since spoken with both the attorney general and the federal public safety minister and thanked them for their cooperation in resolving the matter.

Peel police said they were coordinating with all three levels of law enforcement to tackle the crime wave and had “open lines of communication” with police officials in India, but Thompson would not elaborate on those conversations.