{"id":580685,"date":"2026-04-04T01:06:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T01:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/580685\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T01:06:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T01:06:13","slug":"2nd-arrest-made-in-calgary-investigation-over-south-asian-extortions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/580685\/","title":{"rendered":"2nd arrest made in Calgary investigation over South Asian extortions"},"content":{"rendered":"

A 21-year-old man has been charged following a traffic stop that led to a breakthrough in an ongoing extortion<\/a> investigation involving members of Calgary\u2019s South Asian community, according to police.<\/p>\n

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The Calgary Police Service said officers pulled over a vehicle on March 7 in the city\u2019s northeast and quickly identified it as matching one linked to an extortion-related shooting days earlier, on March 4, in the 8000 block of Saddleridge Drive N.E.<\/p>\n

The vehicle was seized and officers worked with investigators at the scene to document evidence and continue gathering information over the following weeks.<\/p>\n

The evidence, combined with information gathered from previous incidents, helped investigators identify links between suspects, vehicles and a series of extortion-related shootings.<\/p>\n

Nearly a month after the initial traffic stop, police charged Jaskaran Singh, 21, of Calgary, with discharging a firearm with intent and said his arrest was connected to the ongoing South Asian extortion investigation.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is a significant win for our investigators and for the community,\u201d Supt. Jeff Bell said, adding that police will continue to pursue those responsible.<\/p>\n

Police said Singh\u2019s arrest marked the second this week connected to the extortion series. On April 1, police said Rana Cheema, 45, was charged with extortion and uttering threats<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t5:12
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFeds detail \u2018follow-the-money\u2019 plan to combat fraud, extortion in Canada\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Extortions by South Asians against members of their own cultural community began to make headlines in Western Canada two years ago.<\/p>\n

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Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.<\/p>\n

Since then, police in Alberta and B.C. have been\u00a0working with other law enforcement agencies to more effectively investigate crimes occurring across multiple jurisdictions.<\/p>\n

The extortions have resulted in dozens of threats, shootings and other crimes against members of the South Asian community in both Edmonton and Calgary, and have stoked fear in the community about who could be targeted next.<\/p>\n

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Last month, police in Edmonton said investigators found criminal networks are recruiting newly-arrived young South Asian newcomers, like foreign students and workers, to help extort or commit petty crimes.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEdmonton extortion fears remain: \u2018People are still out there\u2019\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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As of March 12,\u00a0the CBSA has opened 372 immigration investigations<\/a>, issued 70 removal orders and removed 35 people from Canada<\/p>\n

Authorities in Calgary say there have been 41 extortion attempts in that city since January 2025, including 18 shootings at homes, businesses and vehicles, though no injuries have been reported.<\/p>\n

Victims have also been receiving threats through international phone calls and social media platforms. Calgary police describe the investigation into the extortion allegations as complex and are asking for additional victims to come forward.<\/p>\n

Police urge anyone who is targeted by extortion attempts, which typically involve threats or demands to make payment using messaging platforms like WhatsApp, to take the following steps:<\/p>\n

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\t\t\tDo not respond to the threatening communicationPreserve evidence by taking screenshots of incoming calls or messagesContact police immediatelyIf you are concerned for your immediate safety, find a safe place to stay, such as a friend or family member\u2019s home, until police can reach you<\/p>\n

Investigators say the work is ongoing and more arrests are expected.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNortheast Calgary shooting likely tied to extortion, police say\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

With files from Ken MacGillivray and Karen Bartko, Global News<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A 21-year-old man has been charged following a traffic stop that led to a breakthrough in an ongoing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":580686,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[49,2798,16231,222360,48,2169,68979,198894],"class_list":{"0":"post-580685","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-calgary","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-calgary","10":"tag-calgary-crime","11":"tag-calgary-extortions","12":"tag-canada","13":"tag-crime","14":"tag-extortion","15":"tag-south-asian-extortion"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}