Canadian police arrested four Indian-origin persons from Calgary, Alberta, and are looking for a fifth in connection with a kidnapping incident related to extortion, Calgary police service (CPS) on Friday said.
CPS’s Organized Crime & Offender Management Section laid charges against the five men regarding an elaborate scheme to extort a victim in the city. “This incident is an escalation of the ongoing violence associated with an extortion series that is targeting the South Asian community,” a release on Friday from CPS said.
Previously, multiple such arrests were reported from Brampton in the Greater Toronto Area, Surrey in British Columbia and Edmonton.
On the evening of May 6, between 6.30pm and 7:30 p.m., four men kidnapped a man from his residence in Edmonton. He was assaulted, threatened at gunpoint and forced into a vehicle and driven to Calgary.
The suspects drove the victim to his friend’s residence, where additional suspects and vehicles were present. They attempted to force the victim to lure his friend, who was the intended extortion target, out of his residence. The victim refused and was assaulted again.
While the suspects remained outside of their residence, the victim’s friend and his wife attempted to leave their residence. They were followed and threatened with a firearm before fleeing back to their residence where they contacted police, CPS said.
{{/usCountry}}While the suspects remained outside of their residence, the victim’s friend and his wife attempted to leave their residence. They were followed and threatened with a firearm before fleeing back to their residence where they contacted police, CPS said.
{{/usCountry}}Shortly after, police located a vehicle that was believed to be involved and conducted a traffic stop resulting in the arrest of two men.
The initial Edmonton kidnapping remained unreported to the police.
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The remaining suspects drove the victim back to Edmonton where he was released near his residence early the next morning. Upon his release, he contacted police to report the kidnapping.
On Tuesday, investigators, with the assistance of CPS’ tactical team, conducted a traffic stop and arrested two others.
Police also seized a privately-manufactured firearm (PMF).
The arrested men were identified as Taranveer Singh (24), Daksh Gautam (25), Akashdeep Singh (18), and Pardeep Singh (24), all residents of Calgary. They face multiple charges related to firearms, kidnapping and assault.
Police are looking for a fifth suspect, 29-year-old Gagandeep Singh, and released his photos.
The CPS investigation was supported by the Edmonton police service and Canada border service agency.
Since April 2025, there have been 45 extortion-related incidents in Calgary, with 19 of them involving shootings at homes, businesses, or vehicles. To date, 11 individuals have been charged in relation to the Calgary series of extortion.