Edmonton 'ground zero' for South Asian community extortion plots: RCMP
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'Edmonton was probably the first place that started to see the series of extortions in the fall of 2023 really. And then, of course, we saw extortions here in the Lower Mainland, as well as in Peel Region in Ontario,' RCMP Superintendent Adam MacIntosh told Postmedia in a phone interview this week.
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'In January of 2024, the RCMP said, 'Obviously, there's connections across the country. We need to look at how we might be able to support the police of jurisdictions across the country.''
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In addition to being in charge of NCST, MacIntosh wears the hat of leading the Cyber and Financial Investigation Teams (CFIT) in British Columbia — both high stakes, high accountability roles, generating intelligence and evidence through investigation, looking for inter-relation of crimes across the country, and internationally.
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Edmonton as incubator
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The NCST supported the Edmonton Police Service as a ring of extortion emerged in the Project Gaslight investigation where South Asian home builders were being targeted via arson, and continues to probe other organized crime, including transnational events, drug trafficking, cyber security and national security,.
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'You should be very proud of the work done by the Edmonton Police Service in Project Gaslight. They've done some fantastic policing which has resulted in positive outcomes of suppression through enforcement and charges,' said MacIntosh.
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'They stood up another new task force, and there's simply some really great work going across this country with police agencies around a very complicated, sophisticated group of organized crime related to these extortions.'
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The suspected kingpin charged in Project Gaslight, is still in Dubai. Canadian authorities are planning to extradite Maninder Singh Dhaliwal, who has an Aug. 1 Edmonton court date, along with four other Edmontonians charged in the case.
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Edmonton police warn South Asian community of extortion resurgence
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By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The suit, filed on July 4, alleges that both companies, 'despite knowing of prior explosions and safety risks related to their three-wick candles, failed to recall, redesign, or properly warn consumers about the risk of catastrophic injury.' In an emailed statement to National Post, a spokesperson for Bath & Body Works denied the allegations. They said the explosion was due to misuse. 'In millions of hours of testing we have never seen our candles explode. Based on third party testing it is evident that the candle involved in this incident was improperly burned and extinguished. 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