CHANDIGARH: Six Punjabi youths including a girl have been arrested by the Edmonton Police in Canada in the extortion series known as Project Gaslight. It is a probe into incidents targeting business owners in Edmonton. Canada-wide warrants have been issued to the seventh alleged suspect, also a Punjabi, who is the mastermind.
In an official statement, Edmonton Police stated that the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) detectives have arrested six suspects and issued Canada-wide warrants for a seventh in the extortion series known as Project Gaslight.
The police are now investigating 40 incidents related to the extortion series, with the latest occurring early this morning, Friday, July 26 involving an arson at an apartment building in the Cavanagh neighborhood.
On Thursday, July 25 EPS and RCMP officers executed search warrants at six locations in southeast Edmonton relating to Project Gaslight. The police also arrested and charged five males and one female believed to be involved in the extortion scheme that was targeting South Asian business owners in the Edmonton area.
The arrested persons included one female, Jashandeep Kaur (19) and five males Gurkaran Singh (19) Manav Heer (19) Parminder Singh (21) Divnoor Asht (19) and a 17-year-old are all facing a host of serious criminal charges.
Canada-wide warrants have also been issued for Maninder Singh Dhaliwal (34), who is believed to be the leader of the criminal organization responsible for the extortions.
Jointly and individually, the seven accused are facing a total of 54 charges, including extortion, arson, intentionally discharging a firearm, break and enter, assault with a weapon, as well as a number of charges linked to committing an offence for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization, it stated.
The whereabouts of Maninder Singh Dhaliwal are unknown, but police are working with federal counterparts to locate him. Investigators believe he may have altered his appearance.
"From the standpoint of sheer volume of information our investigators reviewed, this was likely one of the largest investigations in the history of the EPS, resulting in substantial charges for all accused,’’ says Acting Inspector David Paton, with the EPS Organized Crime Branch. "We believe that the individuals identified today represent the core members of this criminal network; however, we know Dhaliwal is actively recruiting other young people and we want parents, specifically from the South Asian community, to be aware and to have conversations with their young adults about the extortions and arsons that have been taking place.”
"The RCMP National Coordination and Support Team (NCST) has been monitoring the significant progress made by the Edmonton Police Service and the efforts underway by the other BC, Alberta, and Ontario law enforcement colleagues working to address similar types of extortion and violence investigations in Canada," says Superintendent Adam MacIntosh, NCS Team Leader. "We continue to share information and intelligence and leverage additional resources and supports as we collectively work to identify, arrest and deter those individuals and criminal organizations targeting our communities.”
The EPS has laid charges in 26 of the 40 reported incidents related to this extortion series. Police say the individuals identified represent the core members of the criminal network.