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<\/p>\nThe India-based gang behind Canada\u2019s extortion crisis sent a letter to a B.C. police station last year boasting that it had 1,000 foot soldiers willing to carry out shootings, a police officer revealed on Thursday.<\/p>\n
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Testifying at a deportation hearing, the extortion investigator described the letter from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang that was delivered to a police station in Abbotsford, B.C., on Aug. 13, 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice actually received a letter addressed from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang<\/a> that was sent to a police station,\u201d Const. Kevin St. Louis told the Immigration and Refugee Board.<\/p>\n \u201cThis specific letter outlined essentially their criminal organization, where they talked about having upwards of 1,000 individuals that are willing to carry out these shootings as a part of the group,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt also alludes to how every business needs to pay their tax, which I think clearly demonstrates the monetary gain that this group is looking to obtain as a result of these extortions.\u201d<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n The Abbotsford Police Department confirmed the letter.<\/p>\n \u201cDetails of this letter were shared with our law enforcement partners engaged in combating the extortion crisis across Canada,\u201d Sgt. Paul Walker told Global News.<\/p>\n \u201cDetectives working in our internal AbbyPD extortion task force (Operation Community Shield) began to investigate the origin of this letter and the contents spoken about within,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not in a position to comment further on any of the details contained within the letter or investigative steps taken since.\u201d<\/p>\n The letter emerged at a deportation hearing for an alleged member of an Edmonton-based extortion gang linked to violence in three provinces.<\/p>\n Appearing as a witness, St. Louis gave a rare briefing on the Bishnoi crime group, which was placed on Canada\u2019s list of designated terrorist groups<\/a> last September.<\/p>\n The Edmonton Police Service detective is a member of Project Al-Extortion, which is investigating organized crime targeting members of Alberta\u2019s South Asian community<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2:26 Headed by Lawrence Bishnoi, who operates out of the Indian prison where he has been held since 2015, the crime group has set off a crime wave targeting South Asian Canadians.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n To extort money from its victims, the Bishnoi gang relies on Indian nationals in Canada who are paid \u201csmall\u201d amounts to conduct shootings but are also seeking a sense of belonging, the detective testified.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tGet daily National news<\/p>\n Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.<\/p>\n \u201cI think a lot of them look at it as kind of being a part of an organization or a group,\u201d he told the Immigration and Refugee Board, adding \u201ca lot of them are being targeted at schools.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEvery individual that we\u2019ve identified during this investigation is a temporary foreign worker or on a student visa and relatively new to Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt sounds kind of funny to say but what we often see with criminal organizations and gangs is that it kind of gives you that feeling of being involved and sense of community when you\u2019re with this specific group,\u201d St. Louis said.<\/p>\n The extortion gangs contact South Asian business owners and individuals to demand large sums of money. If the victims do not pay, their homes and businesses are sprayed with gunfire, the officer said.<\/p>\n The demands for money are always made over WhatsApp, often referencing Lawrence Bishnoi or his one-time right-hand man Goldy Brar, he said.<\/p>\n But most of the calls come from another Bishnoi member named Jora Sidhu.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one consistent name actually making the extortions was Mr. Jora Sidhu,\u201d St. Louis said. \u201cWe believe that Mr. Jora Sidhu was actually not in Canada while making these demands via WhatsApp.\u201d<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cThat being said, we believe he was the primary individual who would take care of communications for this extortions,\u201d the officer testified, adding the RCMP had identified him through voice-matching.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2:51 The Bishnoi group fractured last fall due to a falling out between its India-based namesake and Brar, his Canadian lieutenant. After that, the group\u2019s tactics changed, he added.<\/p>\n Following the rift, gang members began shooting at homes and businesses without first contacting the owners to demand money, which he said reflected a degree of \u201cdisorganization.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think one of the biggest changes that we saw was a change in the general modus operandi of these groups, and how they carried out these acts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Copycat groups have also emerged, capitalizing on the fear of extortion gangs, he said. But while they name-drop the Bishnoi gang and its leaders, they do not conduct shootings, St. Louis said.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore on Canada Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n The officer also described the challenges faced by investigators, which include the use of encrypted messaging applications with international phone numbers.<\/p>\n The gangs also move firearms between provinces, making them \u201cpractically impossible\u201d to trace. In one case, a gun was used in extortion shootings in two provinces within a 24-hour period, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pace at which these firearms are being moved between different provinces made it very difficult to locate and seize many of these firearms,\u201d the police detective said.<\/p>\n The testimony came at the deportation hearing of Jashandeep Singh, an alleged member of an extortion gang that has been linked to shootings in Alberta, B.C. and Ontario.<\/p>\n The case is the Canada Border Services Agency\u2019s latest attempt to tackle the extortion crisis in Canadian cities by expelling those involved.<\/p>\n Provinces with large Canadian-Sikh populations have been worst-hit, notably B.C., Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario.<\/p>\n On Monday, Peel police announced<\/a> the arrests of 17 suspected members of a gang called For Brothers that was extorting South Asian business owners.<\/p>\n But deportations have become the main tool against the extortion groups, since most members are not Canadians.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:55 As of May 7, the CSA had opened 446 investigations into extortion suspects and issued 118 removal orders, while 55 had already been deported.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n The bulk of the cases, 188, were in the Toronto region, followed by B.C. with 132 and the Prairies, where 126 investigations had been launched.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen police identify individuals who may be in violation of the\u00a0Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, they notify the\u00a0CBSA, which conducts immigration investigations that can lead to enforcement actions, including removal from Canada,\u201d the CBSA said.<\/p>\n An internal RCMP report<\/a> said the Bishnoi group also engages in murder-for-hire in Canada, and has been \u201cacting on behalf of the Indian government.\u201d<\/p>\n The RCMP believes the Bishnoi gang was hired by India to assassinate B.C. Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar<\/a> in 2023 in an alleged act of transnational repression.<\/p>\n The Indian government allegedly targeted Nijjar<\/a> because he was a leading activist in the Khalistan movement that seeks independence for India\u2019s Punjab.<\/p>\n Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government was implicated<\/a> in a second attempted assassination of a Canadian Khalistan activist who resides in New York.<\/p>\n![\"Click](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/251106-JEFF.jpg\")
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