Edmonton Police Service (EPS) detectives have arrested six suspects and issued Canada-wide warrants for a seventh individual in the extortion series known as Project Gaslight. This major development follows an extensive investigation involving 40 incidents, the latest of which occurred early Friday, with an arson at an apartment building in the Cavanagh neighborhood.On Thursday, EPS and RCMP officers executed search warrants at six locations in southeast Edmonton. They arrested and charged five males and one female believed to be involved in the extortion scheme targeting South Asian business owners in the Edmonton area.The arrested individuals include:Jashandeep Kaur, 19Gurkaran Singh, 19Manav Heer, 19Parminder Singh, 21Divnoor Asht, 19A 17-year-old maleThese suspects face a total of 54 charges, including extortion, arson, intentionally discharging a firearm, break and enter, assault with a weapon, and various charges related to committing offences for the benefit of a criminal organization.A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for Maninder Dhaliwal, 34, believed to be the leader of the criminal organization responsible for the extortions. Dhaliwal’s whereabouts are currently unknown, and police are working with federal counterparts to locate him. It is believed that he may have altered his appearance since his last known photograph.“From the standpoint of sheer volume of information our investigators reviewed, this was likely one of the largest investigations in the history of the EPS, resulting in substantial charges for all accused,” said Acting Insp. David Paton of the EPS Organized Crime Branch. “We believe that the individuals identified today represent the core members of this criminal network; however, we know Dhaliwal is actively recruiting other young people, and we want parents, specifically from the South Asian community, to be aware and to have conversations with their young adults about the extortions and arsons that have been taking place.”Supt. Adam MacIntosh of the RCMP National Coordination and Support Team (NCST) acknowledged the significant progress made by the EPS and other law enforcement agencies. “We continue to share information and intelligence and leverage additional resources and supports as we collectively work to identify, arrest, and deter those individuals and criminal organizations targeting our communities,” he said.The EPS has laid charges in 26 of the 40 reported incidents related to this extortion series.Anyone with information about Maninder Dhaliwal’s whereabouts is urged to contact the police immediately at projectgaslight@edmontonpolice.ca or 780-391-4279. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.p3tips.com/250.
