Ottawa: Canadian police have arrested 17 persons, believed to be of Indian origin, for their alleged involvement in extortion and organised crime targeting South Asian business owners and community members in the region.
The Extortion Task Force of the Peel Police “dismantled a coordinated campaign of intimidation, threats, and escalating violence used to extort local businesses”, according to a press release issued by the Peel Regional Police on its official website on Monday.
The majority of the arrested individuals have ties to an international criminal network known as ‘For Brothers’, which targeted South Asian business owners and community members across the region in Canada and the United States, it said.
The arrested persons are predominantly from the South Asian hub of Brampton in Ontario province, especially from India’s Punjab. The Peel Regional Police spokesperson said that the accused were linked to 24 incidents, including extortion against South Asian community members.
Cumulatively, the accused were charged with 106 offences in the North American country, and six of them are on the brink of expulsion. They would face the risk of expulsion, however, only after their cases in the country are concluded. “Of those, investigators linked 16 violent incidents associated with ‘For Brothers’, including arson and multiple shootings that involved 324 rounds discharged,” the spokesperson said.
The gang members are linked to California in the United States and active in Canadian cities such as Brampton, Mississauga, and Caledon, as well as in British Columbia, where they have been targeting South Asian communities.
During the investigation, police also seized six firearms, illicit drugs, multiple cellphones, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards and fraudulent identification cards, the spokesman further said. The criminal operatives targeted South Asian business owners and community members across the region, Canada, and the United States, the spokesperson said.
“These arrests reflect the coordinated efforts of Peel Regional Police and our law enforcement partners across jurisdictions to disrupt these networks and hold those responsible accountable. Extortion is not confined to one region but is connected both nationally and internationally. Addressing it requires strong cross-border collaboration and intelligence-sharing among agencies,” Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah said in a statement.
“We recognise the fear and harm this has caused, particularly within the South Asian community, and remain committed to putting a stop to these crimes and keeping our communities safe.”
The sweeping crackdown was launched in December 2025 by a joint team of the Peel Regional Police and Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), along with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).
The operation was launched in the wake of several businesses, including restaurants and trucking companies, that had come under persistent attacks from the gang. “In one incident, investigators allege two of the accused were responsible for a shooting and arson [incident] at a residential address in Caledon, followed minutes later by a second shooting targeting a business in Brampton,” the spokesperson said.
Canada has reported a six-fold increase in extortion cases, according to a report by the country’s financial agency, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). Ontario has emerged as a key epicentre of illegal activities related to extortion and targeted firing, prompting the Peel Regional Police to institute an Extortion Investigative Task Force in 2023.
The task force was further enhanced last year with the introduction of investigators and international partnerships to address extortion targeting South Asian businesses and evolving trends in organised crime, the Peel Regional Police said in a statement.
In addition to the 17 arrested by the Peel Regional Police, the Canada Border Services Agency has arrested and detained six individuals for allegedly failing to meet immigration eligibility criteria. “For those arrested and detained by CBSA, three individuals have been removed, two are in custody, and one has been released by the Immigration and Refugee Board on conditions,” the spokesman said.
