Man pleads guilty in arson extortion case targeting Edmonton homebuilders

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3 days ago

The remnants of a newly built home that was burned down and is under investigation for arson in Edmonton on Friday Jan. 5, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
A man admitted in court Friday to being part of an arson extortion syndicate targeting South Asian homebuilders in Edmonton.
Manav Heer, wearing an orange jumpsuit, pleaded guilty to extortion, conspiring to commit extortion, attempting to cause fire to property and using an imitation firearm during an offence.
He also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving for causing a crash that left a child with a severe brain injury.
An agreed statement of facts read in court says Heer, while involved with the Brothers Keepers gang and its arson scheme, crashed his father's BMW into another vehicle carrying a woman and her seven-year-old son in 2023.
Court heard the boy has lost his vision, will most likely lose his hearing and could need a caretaker for the rest of his life.
Crown prosecutor Breena Smith told court the homebuilders were targeted between October 2023 to January 2024.
She said Edmonton police, as part of an investigation dubbed Project Gaslight, investigated 40 arsons, extortions and a shooting, some involving Heer.
The extortions included demands for large sums of money from the homebuilders, Smith said. There were threats to burn down homes and to shoot and kill their relatives.
Sometimes multiple homes were burned in one night, she said, and photos and videos of destroyed homes were sent to the builders.
In some cases, shots were also fired into the homes the builders lived in with their families.
In July 2024, Heer and five others, including a youth, were arrested and charged. Charges against one accused have since been stayed. And another earlier pleaded guilty.
A sentencing date for Heer is to be set at a later date.
Smith said the alleged leader of the syndicate, Maninder Singh Dhaliwal, is accused of orchestrating the scheme from the United Arab Emirates. There is a request to extradite him to Canada to face charges.
Dhaliwal called himself 'Batman,' Smith told court, and it is believed he was often the one who called the victims demanding money.
Smith said hundreds of officers worked on Project Gaslight. They intercepted phone calls, seized phones and sifted through countless conversations between gang members on various messaging platforms.
In one conversation, members 'discussed hiring more people, creating larger arson teams, obtaining firearms, identifying additional extortion targets in the South Asian homebuilder community,' Smith told court.
In the days leading up to his arrest, Heer expressed frustration over the pay being reduced for some gang members to $1,500 per arson from $2,000, said the prosecutor.
She said the conversations — some with fire emojis — showed Heer helped identify homes to target and recruited drivers to assist the arsonists.
'The total property damage for the arsons in which (Heer) was involved in was approximately $10 million,' Smith said.
Court heard Heer was paid $10,000.
Some of the homebuilders fled Alberta, Smith said. One bought an armoured vehicle and hired 24-7 security.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2025.
Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press