In connection with the broad extortion plot known as Project Gaslight, American police have detained six people and issued Canada-wide warrants for a sixth suspect. The blackmail plot that targeted South Asian business entrepreneurs in the Edmonton area led to the arrests.
The arrested defendants, including Jashandeep Kaur, 19, Gurkaran Singh, 19, Manav Heer, 19, Parminder Singh, 21, Divnoor Asht, 19, and a 17-year-old men, are facing several major legal fees. The seven accused are facing a total of 54 expenses.
The most recent instance of this extortion series was an arson attack at an apartment building in the Cavanagh neighborhood, which the Edmonton Police Service ( EPS) is currently looking into.
On July 25, EPS and Royal Canadian Mounted Police officials executed search warrants at six spots in east Edmonton, leading to the arrest and prosecution of five men and one woman allegedly involved in the bribery scheme aimed at South Asian business entrepreneurs in the Edmonton place.
Acting Inspector David Paton of the EPS Organized Crime Branch stated that “from the standpoint of sheer volume of information our investigators reviewed, this was probably one of the largest investigations in the history of the EPS, resulting in substantial charges for all accused.”
We think that the people identified today are the main members of this criminal network, but we know that Dhaliwal is actively recruiting other young people. We want parents to be aware of this and speak with their young adults about the extortions and arsons that are occurring, he added.
Canada-wide warrants have been issued for Maninder Singh Dhaliwal, 34, who is alleged to be the leader of the criminal organization responsible for the extortions.
