Edmonton police charge 6 people in ‘Project Gaslight’ arson extortion case

Edmonton police said Friday morning that six more people have been arrested in an ongoing arson extortion scheme targeting South Asian business owners.

The Edmonton Police Service is now investigating 40 incidents related to the extortion series, dubbed Project Gaslight, which involves arsons, firearms offences and extortions dating back to last October.

The most recent incident happened in the Cavanagh neighbourhood on Friday morning, involving an arson at an area apartment building. Edmonton Fire Rescue Services said it happened just after 3 a.m. at an apartment building under construction near Cavanagh Blvd. and 30th Avenue Southwest.

Police said the latest arrests were made on Thursday, when members of the EPS and RCMP executed search warrants at six locations in southeast Edmonton. These arrests come on top of arrests made by police earlier this year.

Acting Insp. David Paton of the EPS organized crime branch said more than 100 officers were involved in the searches on Thursday, including two EPS tactical teams and one from the RCMP.

“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 Paton.

Four men, one male youth and one woman were arrested and charged. Police said Canada-wide warrants have been issued for a seventh person believed to be the leader of the criminal organization responsible for the extortions.

0:56 Project Gaslight: Arson suspects getting burn materials from west Edmonton gas station

Jashandeep Kaur, 19, Gurkaran Singh, 19, Manav Heer, 19, Parminder Singh, 21, Divnoor Asht, 19 and a 17-year-old male are all facing serious criminal charges, according to police.

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“These individuals prepared for their crimes by researching their victims before allegedly committing the extortions, arsons and shootings they are accused of,” Paton said. “They were also allegedly being paid for committing these crimes.

“We believe that the individuals identified today represent the core members of this criminal network. However, there is a strong likelihood that more people will be charged as this investigation continues.”

Police said the six people face a total of 54 charges, including extortion, arson, intentionally discharging a firearm, break and enter, assault with a weapon, as well as a number of charges linked to committing an offence for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization.

Canada-wide warrants have been issued for Maninder Dhaliwal, 34.

“It is our belief that Maninder Dhaliwal is affiliated with the Brothers Keeper organized crime group out of the Lower Mainland,” Paton said. “However, as far our investigative team goes, we refer to this group as the Dhaliwal crime group.”

Police are unaware of Dhaliwal’s location but are working with federal law enforcement partners to locate him. Officers believe he may have changed his appearance since the below picture was taken.

While Paton said Dhaliwal is from Edmonton and has ties to the city, he added, “Investigators believe Dhaliwal has been orchestrating the extortions from overseas and EPS is working with our federal and international counterparts, including the drug enforcement administration, to locate him.”

Paton alleged the criminal network led by Dhaliwal is recruiting young adults “who may be influenced to commit crime for financial incentives.”

“We don’t have a whole lot of clarity as to the recruitment and how that’s being undertaken,” Paton said. “It is our belief that this group has a hierarchy. That recruitment could come in the form of messages passed down to people who are … in our city and then it’s their responsibility to then go out and try to recruit them.

“It is our belief that that recruitment comes along with the idea that they will have financial gain were they to partake in these activities.”

Paton and police chief Dale McFee encouraged parents in the South Asian community with young adult kids to speak to them about the situation.

“We’ve got to stop them from recruiting our youth because it’s destroying our community,” McFee said. “You’re signing up for something that’s a cheque that will never be cashed because it’s going to interfere with your life and it’s going to obviously jeopardize your future.

“Don’t get involved in this stuff. It makes no sense. It doesn’t pay.”

Police said charges have now been laid in 26 of the 40 incidents related to the Edmonton-area series.

McFee wanted the community to know that police will not stop until Dhaliwal and anyone else involved in this case is held accountable.

“We will not stand for you intimidating Edmontonians, period,” McFee said. “There will be serious consequences and it’s only a matter of time before we find you.

“We’re serving notice today. We’re coming.”

Law enforcement agencies in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario are working on similar extortion investigations.

“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,” said Supt. Adam MacIntosh with the RCMP’s national co-ordination and support team (NCST).

Anyone with information on Dhaliwal’s location is asked to immediately contact police at projectgaslight@edmontonpolice.ca or 780-391-4279. Anonymous information can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.

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