On 26th July, Edmonton police arrested six Punjabi youths including a girl about a recent spate of extortions directed towards the South Asian community. They have been identified as Jashandeep Kaur (19), 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. Furthermore, authorities have obtained nationwide search warrants for 34-year-old Maninder Singh Dhaliwal, who they suspect is the head of the gang.
The extortion series known as “Project Gaslight,” which includes weapons offences, arson, and extortions that date back to last October, is currently the subject of 40 investigations by the Edmonton Police Service. The most recent instance involved an arson at an apartment building in the Cavanagh neighbourhood on the morning of July 26. It happened at an apartment complex under construction near Cavanagh Blvd. and 30th Avenue Southwest, according to Edmonton Fire Rescue Services, soon after three in the morning.
The most recent arrests, according to police, occurred on July 25 when Edmonton Police Service (EPS) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) agents carried out search warrants at six sites in southeast Edmonton. These arrests follow other ones that the cops made earlier in the year.
More than 100 officials, including two EPS tactical teams and one RCMP officer, were involved in the searches on July 25, according to Acting Inspector David Paton of the EPS organized crime branch. “From the standpoint of the 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,” he informed.
David Paton revealed, “These individuals prepared for their crimes by researching their victims before allegedly committing the extortions, arsons and shootings they are accused of. They were also allegedly being paid for committing these crimes. We believe that the individuals identified today represent the core members of this criminal network. However, there is a strong likelihood that more people will be charged as this investigation continues.”
Chief of Police Dale McFee promised that those accountable will face consequences. “Because it’s not just the individuals or the people that are affected by a fire or an extortion, but it scares the whole community because you just don’t know where they are. It’s time for that to stop. And I think we’re serving notice here today, we’re coming.”
The six are accused of several violations, including assault with a weapon, break, arson, extortion, and firing a firearm with intent, per the authorities. They are also charged with committing several offences for the advantage of, in collaboration with, or at the direction of a criminal organization. David Paton conveyed, “We believe that Maninder Dhaliwal is affiliated with the Brother’s Keeper organized crime group out of the Lower Mainland. However, as far as our investigative team goes, we refer to this group as the Dhaliwal crime group.”
Authorities are collaborating with federal law enforcement colleagues to find him as they are unaware of his location. Maninder Dhaliwal is from Edmonton and has connections there but the cop mentioned, “EPS is working with our federal and international counterparts, including the drug enforcement administration, to locate Dhaliwal, as investigators believe he has been orchestrating the extortions from overseas.” David Paton asserted that young adults “who may be influenced to commit crime for financial incentives” are being recruited by his criminal network.
He added, “We don’t have a whole lot of clarity as to the recruitment and how that’s being undertaken. We believe that this group has a hierarchy. That recruitment could come in the form of messages passed down to people who are in our city and then it’s their responsibility to go out and try to recruit them. We believe that that recruitment comes along with the idea that they will have financial gain were they to partake in these activities.” According to him, two of the accused are Indian nationals, one is a permanent resident, and the remaining individuals are Canadian citizens.
