Canada Police release photos of Indians charged in extortion cases

The police in Canada’s Calgary have released photographs of 15 men charged in connection with a series of violent extortion incidents targeting the city’s South Asian community, urging the public to provide information about the suspects and their associates.

The Calgary Police Service (CPS) said 16 people face 56 charges linked to the extortion investigations. The police said only one remains in custody, while the others have been released on bail, and none of those charged is Canadian citizens.

Most of the accused are of Punjabi origin from India and are in Canada on student or work visas, according to police briefings and media reports. Some of the accused were known in the community by aliases. In one case, Bell said, a roommate did not know a suspect’s real name until the police informed him.

Bell described the release of most of the accused back into the community as “concerning”. Bail decisions are made by courts after the Crown presents its position. The Calgary cases are part of a wider pattern of extortion targeting South Asian communities in Canada, particularly in British Columbia and the Greater Toronto Area.

The police have described a model in which criminal networks recruit individuals to threaten victims or use violence, including shootings at homes and vehicles, to demand money. The Calgary police said they have documented 49 extortion-related incidents since April 2025, including 19 shootings.

Of these, 18 were directed at victims or their property and one involved suspects shooting at each other. Two dedicated police operations, Orion, focused on investigations, and Outage, involving increased police presence and community engagement, are continuing.

Bell said the operations had helped reduce violence. Nine extortion-linked shootings occurred in the first 60 days of 2026, he said, compared with two in the following roughly 100 days. “So that tells us right there that we’ve driven down the amount of violence that’s happening,” Bell said.

The police are seeking information about the accused and their associates, as well as help locating Germanjeet Singh, who is wanted on warrants. Anyone with information has been asked to contact Calgary police or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

The police said the investigations are active and additional suspects may still be at large. Members of Calgary’s South Asian community welcomed the release of the photographs. Rishi Nagar, news director of Red FM, a South Asian radio station, described it as a “relief”, saying the community had been demanding photographs because, without them, people had no way of knowing whether someone they encountered was among those charged.

The 15 men whose photographs have been released are: * Germanjeet Singh, 22, also known as Germanjit Singh, German Singh, Garry Singh and Gary Singh — wanted on warrants * Gagandeep Singh, 29, aliases Gagi Singh and “Guggi”