Toronto

Canadian police have arrested three men and two women of Punjab origin, and laid almost two dozen charges in connection with extortion threats targeting the South Asian business community in the Greater Toronto Area.

Gagan Ajit Singh, 23, Anmoldeep Singh, 23, Hashmeet Kaur, 25, and Lymanjot Kaur, 21; all from Brampton and Mississauga face a laundry list of charges, which include extortion, firearms-related offences, and fraud.

The fifth suspect, Arundeep Thind, 39, has been charged separately in connection with an alleged extortion incident on January 26, the Peel Regional Police (PRP) said in a statement released on Wednesday.

Gagan Ajit and Anmoldeep were held for bail hearings and attended the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton, police said. While Iymanjot and Hashmeet will attend the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton at a later date, Thind was held for a bail hearing and attended the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton, the PRP release said.

'We understand the impact these incidents have caused to the victims and their families, and see how deeply these incidents are being felt throughout our community', PRP chief Nishan Duraiappah said in a statement.

Duraiappah, who also addressed a news conference on Wednesday announcing the arrests, added that police agencies in India as well as Canada have been contacted as there's a complex ecosystem of people involved, in these crimes.

The PRP said its 23-member Extortion Investigative Task Force (EITF), with the support of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), executed a search warrant resulting in the arrests concerning incidents that occurred throughout the GTA, since December 2023.