6 charged, 1 wanted Canada-wide in extortion against Edmonton’s South Asian community

Edmonton police say six people have been charged and Canada-wide warrants have been issued for a seventh man in connection to a series of extortion incidents against the South Asian community in the city.

The EPS says Project Gaslight is a massive investigation into a series of extortion, a good portion of which have happened in the Cavanagh neighbourhood.

There are 40 incidents believed to be connected to the extortions. Police say the latest of which happened Friday morning when a fire was set at an apartment building in Cavanagh.

“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,” said Acting Insp. David Paton, with the EPS Organized Crime Branch.

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On July 25, the EPS and the RCMP executed search warrants at six homes in Edmonton. Five men and a woman who are all believed to be connected to the incidents were also taken into custody.

Police say 19-year-old Jashandeep Kaur, 19-year-old Gurkaran Singh, 19-year-old Manav Heer, 21-year-old Parminder Singh, 19-year-old Divnoor Asht, and an unnamed 17-year-old boy are “all facing a host of serious criminal charges.” Those charges include:

• 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.

Additionally, Canada-wide warrants have been issued from 34-year-old Maninder Dhaliwal.

Police believe Dhaliwal is the leader of the criminal organization responsible for the extortions.

At this time, Dhaliwal’s whereabouts are unknown. EPS say they are working with federal counterparts to locate him and it is believed he may have altered his appearance since the photo provided by police was taken.

“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,” said Paton.

Anyone who has information about Dhaliwal’s whereabouts is asked to contact police immediately at the Project Gaslight email at projectgaslight@edmontonpolice.ca or 780-391-4279 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

The EPS also notes that charges have only been laid in 26 of the 40 reported incidents connected to the series of extortions.