Across Borders and Provinces, a Network of Extortion Meets Its Reckoning

There is a particular fear that settles into a community when violence becomes a form of negotiation—when a demand for money is followed not by a second request but by a fire, a gunshot, a message that cannot be misread. For more than a year, members of British Columbia's South Asian community have lived with that fear. This week, the RCMP announced that five foreign nationals have been arrested and charged in connection with a campaign of extortion, arson, and shootings that began with a single complaint and expanded into an investigation spanning multiple provinces and international borders .

The investigation, known as Project E_PURSUANCE, began in June 2025 when the co-owners of an auto dealership reached out to police after receiving what Supt. Harm Dosange of the Langley RCMP described as "extreme extortion demands." Those demands were followed by targeted attacks—shootings and arsons at the dealership's locations in Langley and Surrey . What began as a local case grew into something larger. Investigators identified a group allegedly involved in extortions, trafficking prohibited firearms, and trafficking controlled substances. The arrests, made on October 1, involved suspects in their twenties, four of whom were taken into custody in Surrey. The fifth, Sanket Singla, 23, was arrested as he stepped off a plane at Toronto Pearson International Airport—the culmination of a controlled operation coordinated with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency, and international RCMP liaison officers .

The charges are extensive. The accused face counts including extortion, recklessly discharging a firearm, causing damage by fire or explosion, throwing an explosive substance, unauthorized transfer of prohibited firearms, and trafficking cocaine . The investigation also resulted in the seizure of four firearms, ammunition, magazines, and illicit substances including suspected fentanyl, cocaine, and opium . Supt. Dosange noted that investigators "faced numerous daunting challenges and some unprecedented things we have not seen before," though he declined to elaborate as the case is before the courts .

The arrests arrive amid a broader surge in extortion cases targeting B.C.'s South Asian community. According to Surrey Police Service statistics, between January 1 and September 28 of this year, the department recorded 142 reported extortions, 21 related shots-fired cases, three arsons, and 76 victims—39 of whom were repeated targets . A provincewide extortion task force was launched last year to coordinate the response, and the City of Surrey has established a $250,000 reward for information leading to convictions .

Chief Supt. Duncan Pound, who leads the task force, said the trial will determine whether the India-based Lawrence Bishnoi gang—designated a terrorist entity in Canada—was involved in the scheme. He cautioned, however, that perpetrators in such cases often claim affiliation with high-profile gangs to amplify intimidation, using the reputation of violence as a currency of its own . Both Dosange and Pound credited the victims for the outcome. "Truly, without really timely reporting and the courage to come forward and provide as many details as they can, it's very difficult for the police anywhere to get to a point like we are at today," Dosange said . In crimes built on fear, the decision to speak can be the first crack in the structure that holds such operations together.

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Sources: RCMP, CBC News, The Canadian Press, Toronto Star, Yahoo News Canada