
When Edmonton police arrested Arshdeep Singh for shoplifting at West Edmonton Mall last November, they launched an investigation that ultimately put the young Indian national at the heart of a network believed responsible for the extortion crisis plaguing Canadian communities.
Singh’s phone held a cache of images and messages linking him to an arson in Ontario, a shooting in Edmonton, extortion cases in Surrey and auto theft and insurance fraud in the Lower Mainland, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
There was even a photograph of Singh alongside the alleged “prime conspirator” behind a series of extortion-linked shootings at a Surrey café.




The sheer amount of extortion attempts and extortion-related shootings in British Columbia has commanded national and international attention. It is not surprising to see more than half of British Columbians (56 per cent) saying they have followed news related to this situation “very closely” or “moderately closely” over the past month.






