Harjeet Singh Dhadda was known for standing up for what’s right and helping people in need.
“As an insurance broker with over 20 years of experience in transportation, he guided countless people — international students, business owners, families,” said his daughter Gurlin Dhadda, adding her father “helped everyone without hesitation” and “taught us always to do the same.”
The 51-year-old Brampton father of two was gunned down in a parking lot outside his Mississauga office May 14, 2025, after reportedly refusing to pay extortionists.
“My dad was the provider for our home. His sudden passing has been extremely hard on me, my family and especially my mother, who lost her life partner,” Gurlin told a Dec. 7 town hall meeting in Brampton organized by Sikh organizations to bring attention to what they called an unprecedented wave of extortion crime targeting Sikh families and businesses.
Harjeet Singh Dhadda was fatally shot last year after reportedly refusing to pay extortionists. Arrests have been made in the wake of his death.
Brampton Crematorium a Visitation Centre screenshot
Gurlin said her father’s death has “deeply affected so many people in the community” as well.
“He was never someone who stayed quiet. He always spoke up, stood for what was right,” she said. “He had a kind and genuine heart.”
Three men from Delta, B.C., have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Harjeet Singh Dhadda.
Gurlin said her family doesn’t have an answer as to who gave the orders for the shooting, adding “arresting the people on the surface level” isn’t enough.
“We want every person involved — the ones who planned it, instructed it and enabled it — to be found and brought to justice,” she said. “My father did not deserve this. No family deserves this, and no community should have to live in fear. … We’re asking for justice, transparency and protection. We’re asking for a system that truly keeps its citizens safe.”
According to Peel Regional Police, there were 50 business-related extortions in Brampton and Mississauga in 2023, compared to 153 in 2024 and 192 in 2025. Total extortion incidents numbered 319 in 2023, 494 in 2024 and 476 last year.
In that time, according to police, there have been 267 extortion and related charges filed and more than $8 million worth of investigative hours invested.
“Peel Regional Police is leading efforts to combat extortion in Peel Region and in partnership with municipal, provincial, and federal agencies across Canada,” police spokesperson Matt Carty said in a Jan. 28 email. “We have made significant investments to address this transnational issue, which continues to have a serious impact on our communities.”
Carty said Peel police have “maintained a dedicated” extortion task force since 2023 and led target operations that have disrupted organized criminal networks.
“While enforcement is critical, extortion is a complex transnational issue that requires a co-ordinated response,” he said. “This includes legislative reform, enhanced investigative tools and stronger measures to disrupt organized and transnational criminal networks. We remain committed to working with all levels of government to put a stop to this violence and intimidation that is profoundly impacting our communities.”
On Jan. 13, the federal government hosted an anti-extortion summit in Brampton where it announced up to $1 million in funding toward Peel police’s ongoing efforts to combat extortion and help victims.
“We know that Peel Region has been impacted disproportionately over the last couple of years, but it appears to be escalating in the last several months,” Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said in an interview on the day of the summit. “We wanted to make sure that there’s greater co-ordination amongst levels of government but also among law enforcement agencies.”
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, right, speaks to reporters following a Jan. 13 anti-extortion summit held in Brampton as Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah looks on.
Andrew Palamarchuk/Metroland
The federal government also announced it will establish a new Regional Integrated Drug Enforcement Team (RIDET) in partnership with the province and local authorities.
RIDET, which will receive $4 million over four years from the federal government’s Canada’s Border Plan, will bring together law enforcement resources from multiple agencies and jurisdictions in a centralized hub to share information and intelligence and increase law enforcement co-ordination to disrupt organized crime groups that control the illegal drug market and perpetuate extortion, according to Public Safety Canada.
“Issues around extortion are intrinsically linked to criminal crime networks and, as a result, issues around drugs, around car thefts, around extortion are intertwined,” Anandasangaree said.
Secretary of State (Combatting Crime) and Brampton North—Caledon MP Ruby Sahota said the $1 million in funding for Peel police will give the service “a boost” in responding to extortion crime.
“It’s surge funding, really. It’s not core funding or operational funding,” she said in a Jan. 20 interview. “This is just a unique parcel of funding that is providing a top-up.”
What’s really needed, Sahota said, is lawful access legislation, which she said was tabled by the Liberal government in June but failed to get support from opposition parties.
She said lawful access would give police an expedited process, with judicial oversight, to get basic subscriber information, meaning they would more quickly be able to connect phone numbers and IP addresses to whom they belong.
“That’s incredibly important in almost any crime that we’re facing today, especially extortions and child exploitation cases,” Sahota said.
“Without that, these cases are delayed for a very long time as they await judicial authorizations to connect these phone numbers that people are being extorted from, through tech companies, and then back to the investigating officer … and in the meantime, these criminals are on the loose.”
Sahota suggested the federal government is also looking at ways to better co-ordinate Peel police’s investigations with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) so there are no gaps in swiftly removing many involved in extortion crime.
“People who are without status who may be involved in these criminal organizations (and) people who have entered through a deception — those are things that we are seeing in these cases,” she said.
An anti-extortion summit was held in Brampton Jan. 13.
Andrew Palamarchuk/Metroland
The Jan. 13 anti-extortion summit, most of which was closed to the public and the media, brought together law enforcement agencies and representatives of all levels of government, including the Town of Caledon, which has also seen a rise in extortion-related incidents.
“At the summit, the connection between illegal land uses such as the large illegal truck parking lots — a huge issue in Caledon — was linked to the growing issue of extortion by organized crime, locally and internationally,” Caledon Coun. Dave Sheen said in a Jan. 30 email, noting that “I do know our local Caledon OPP detachment is aware of the growing issue in Canada and the fact that such criminal activity is not constrained by municipal, provincial or international borders.”
According to a Dec. 14 OPP news release, more than 45 extortion cases were identified in Caledon and Dufferin County since December 2023.
Sahota noted she’s not surprised extortion crime has spread to municipalities like Caledon.
“If they feel they have a model that is profitable, why wouldn’t it spread?” she said of extorters. “But that’s why we’ve got to nip this in the bud right now, so that it doesn’t continue to spread into other communities and regions of the country.”
Sahota said South Asian businesses are being targeted with initial demands ranging from $500,000 to $5 million.
“People do not have the ability to pay this type of money,” she said. “A lot of them are feeling that they want to leave and set up business somewhere else.”
Sahota said many businesses are “stepping back,” not wanting to be in the limelight.
“They don’t want to advertise, and that’s detrimental to the growth of their business too,” she said. “I want to figure out a way to investigate these cases more efficiently and make more arrests … because we can’t have this have an economic impact or the violence to end in the ultimate worst-case scenario where lives are lost.”
Ruby Sahota is Secretary of State (Combatting Crime) and the MP for Brampton North—Caledon.
Ruby Sahota photo
Sahota said extortionists are becoming more brazen by shooting first and then calling to demand cash, and by taking video of their crime and posting it online.
“In the early days, there were letters … dropped off at houses, but I’m not hearing much of that anymore.”
Brampton councillor and deputy mayor Harkirat Singh said he too is alarmed by the growing brazenness of extortion crimes.
“You’re seeing calls being made to residents, saying, ‘Go tell whoever you want. We’re not scared,’” Singh said. “The recordings go viral, gunshots being made in front of businesses so there’s … a real fear that’s being instilled in the community right now.”
Extortion crime may be more prevalent than official statistics indicate.
“I hear from the community that not everyone is reporting these cases. I also hear anecdotally that some people are giving in and making payments,” Sahota said. “The best way to prevent this from spreading is to not pay. … I also understand that that’s easier said than done. At times, people are afraid and they feel they have no other way out.”
But Sahota added that “once you pay an extortionist, there’s no guarantee that they won’t come back for more.”