2 men deported from Canada in extortion investigation got a ‘get out of jail free’ card: lawyer

The Canada Border Service Agency is identifying two men deported earlier this year for alleged roles in a Canada-wide extortion scheme.

Two men who have been deported because of their alleged roles in a national extortion scheme based in Edmonton have been identified by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Arshdeep Singh, who came to Canada on a student permit in 2022, was deported in January.

Sukhnaaz Singh Sandu was removed from the country last month after spending 10 years in Canada as a temporary resident.

Police say the two men, along with three others still under investigation by the CBSA, are connected to extortions in Calgary, the B.C. Lower Mainland, and Ontario.

The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) says it enlisted the help of CBSA on the extortion cases last May.

“This strategy worked quickly. It eliminated the threat, ended the extortions by this group in the Edmonton area, and also prevented them from affecting other communities right across the country,” said Supt. Robinder Gill of the EPS criminal investigation division told reporters on Thursday.

The two men were arrested in November and remained at an immigration detention centre on the grounds of being a danger to the public before they were removed from the country for violating the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

A public safety expert for CTV News applauds the move.

“I like it because had they just been charged … the investigation may have taken some time. In the meantime, they may commit more offenses, maybe some violence,” Chris Lewis told CTV News Edmonton on Friday.

“Getting them out of the country, I think, is a tax-saving and a public-safety plus. So goodbye, good riddance.”

An immigration lawyer based in Vancouver says the deportations are about politics more than justice.

“It’s clear that Ottawa wants to be seen to be doing something effectively and immediately, and that’s deportation, rather than a lengthy criminal process with the prospect of incarceration,” Richard Kurland said in an interview with CTV News Edmonton on Friday.

“It’s almost as if they’re getting a “get out of jail free” card here, if they’re removed from Canada, face no sanction under Canadian law and are free to go after they leave the airplane in their home country, where is the justice in that for the victims?”

Kurland says the men will be placed on a watch list by Canada and would be denied future entry into the country and other countries that use Canadian intelligence to determine entrance eligibility.

EPS and CBSA say they have identified 51 other suspects who may be tied to extortion crimes.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nicole Lampa