Toronto: Canadian authorities have announced the deportation of two Indian nationals due to their involvement in extortion-related activity, including an individual who contested the proceedings on the grounds he faced persecution if returned to India due to his support for the Khalistan movement.
In a release issued on Wednesday, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) identified the two as Arshdeep Singh and Sukhnaaz Singh Sandhu.
It said that Singh entered Canada on a study permit in 2022. In November 2025, CBSA arrested and detained him and “reported him inadmissible for membership in a criminal organisation linked to extortion, arson, drug trafficking, and firearm offences”. A month later, he was found inadmissible by the Immigration and Refugees Board of Canada (IRB), and a deportation order was issued. He remained in immigration detention on the grounds of being a danger to the public and flight risk and was removed from Canada under escort on January 19.
Sandhu, CBSA said, entered Canada in 2016, as a temporary resident. In November 2025, CBSA arrested and detained him and also reported him inadmissible and a deportation order was subsequently issued. He also remained in immigration detention on the grounds of being a danger to the public until February 3, when the CBSA removed him from Canada under escort.
Both came to Canada as international students and were arrested from Edmonton in Alberta, though their alleged criminality spanned the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia as well, the outlet CBC News reported.
{{/usCountry}}Both came to Canada as international students and were arrested from Edmonton in Alberta, though their alleged criminality spanned the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia as well, the outlet CBC News reported.
{{/usCountry}}It added that Sandhu “fought deportation, claiming he risked persecution if returned to India because of his support for a Sikh separatist movement seeking to create an independent Sikh state called Khalistan in northern India”.
CBSA said In August 2025, it “began formally monitoring immigration enforcement cases potentially linked to extortion” in the Pacific and Prairie Regions, expanding this work to the Greater Toronto Area in November 2025. These cases come to CBSA’s attention through many sources, including collaboration with extortion task forces, tips from partner agencies and the public, and its own investigative work.
In that context, it said that, as of March 12, 2026, it had opened 372 immigration investigations, 70 removal orders were issued for various inadmissibility grounds, and 35 removals had been enforced.
“Protecting the safety and well-being of Canadians requires constant vigilance in the face of evolving criminal threats. Extortion and organised crime have no place in our country. Our government will continue to support and invest in strong, coordinated enforcement efforts so we can take action against those who seek to exploit and harm our communities, including removing those who are not entitled to remain in Canada,” Canada’s Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree said.