Fears raised that copycat extortionists are now at work in Ontario

Members of the Sikh community express their fears as targeted, often violent, extortions have become increasingly common. Adrian Ghobrial reports.

BRAMPTON, Ont. -- Violent extortion attempts, allegedly carried out by transnational organized crime syndicates, have tormented South Asian families and business owners across Canada over the last several years with alarming frequency.

Now, one Brampton, Ont., city councillor has revealed that many in his community believe copycat criminals are behind multiple violent extortion attempts in recent weeks.

“They’ve learned from the organized crime groups. The copycats see how easy it has become to drive by a residence or business in the middle of the night and fire some shots off. They record the shooting with their own phones and then share the videos to instill fear in the community,” says Brampton Coun. Gurpartap Singh Toor.

Residential security cameras have recently captured multiple shootings in Brampton and Mississauga, Ont. Each shooting shares a similarity: two people get out of a vehicle, one has a gun in their hand and begins opening fire on a home or business, and a second person holds a phone up and records video of the shooting. The video recording is then posted online or shared by the criminals to stoke fear in those they’re targeting.

The message is clear: If you don’t give in to their extortion demands, you could be next.

“Criminals hope that their targets will give in to the fear they feel, that they’ll give in to the demands, making those payments in exchange for safety. That’s how they’re now operating in our communities,” says Toor.

Dozens of arrests

In May, Peel Regional Police, west of Toronto, arrested 17 suspects linked to a string of violent extortion incidents that predominantly targeted members of the South Asian and Sikh business community in Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga. A total of 106 criminal charges were laid in connection with the joint investigation, which was launched in December 2025 and also involved the FBI, Canada Border Services Agency, Ontario Provincial Police, Surrey Police Service and Edmonton Police Service.

This week, the RCMP joined the FBI and the LAPD in Los Angeles to announce that an additional 24 suspects, involved with three different organized crime groups, based out of India, had been arrested.

And yet, according to Toor, the terror many across Canada and beyond are facing persists.

“Just last week, I received two phone calls from two separate individuals. One had received calls and messages demanding cash payments, the other had their business shot at on three separate occasions over the last month,” says Toor.

Toor says the high-profile arrests are welcome, but with each new shooting and extortion attempt, any sense of safety is being shattered.

In May, CTV News spoke with one victim who was recently targeted. While he asked that his identity remain confidential, he did share that criminals threated to kill his son, if he didn’t send them thousands of dollars.

He told CTV News: “You’re too scared to go for a drive, you’re too scared to go inside your house, you’re too scared to come out of your house.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by many who spoke to CTV News over the last three years and have been on the receiving end of a violent shakedown.

“It’s going to take a lot of time and patience to repair the trust in our communities. The federal government has made changes to the Criminal Code to ensure violent offenders aren’t released the day after a shooting. The hope is those laws provide true justice, but we also need to invest in our communities locally to help prevent these transborder and domestic criminals from prevailing,” adds Toor.