extortion

On Friday Edmonton police identified and arrested 6 people in connection with Project Gaslight. multiple houses went up in flames after local South Asian business owners received WhatsApp messages demanding large amounts of money. The extortion attempts and incidents were allegedly carried out by the local suspects under directions from the man believed to be responsible for orchestrating the scheme — Maninder Singh Dhaliwal. Canada-wide arrest warrants have been issued for Maninder Singh Dhaliwal who is believed to have fled to India. Police say the individuals identified represent the core members of the criminal network.

Edmonton Police Services (EPS) have released further details on the recent spate of extortion based crimes targeted against members of Edmonton's South Asian community. They believe the crimes are committed by local criminals who receive their directives from an Indian who is the kingpin of an organized crime ring. EPS believes threats are communicated via WhatsApp and the main targets seem to be home builders who are thought to be able to pay the extortionists.

EPS has formed a dedicated task force, is working with other agencies and is asking the community to get involved.