Canada’s ‘foreign gun squads’ expose growing fears within Indian diaspora: Report

The Canadian police have arrested 17 people and charged them with being part of an international criminal network that targeted South Asian business owners and community members across Canada and the United States. They have been accused of extortion, shooting, and arson, among other offences.

The Canadian police on Monday announced the arrest of 17 people for being part of an international criminal network that targeted South Asian business owners and community members across Canada and the United States. They have been accused of extortion, shooting, and arson, among other offences.

In a statement, Peel Police of Toronto said most of the accused are part of an international criminal network known as ‘For Brothers’. It added that the investigation dismantled a coordinated campaign of intimidation, threats, and escalating violence used to extort local businesses.

The police said the accused are believed to be involved in a series of targeted attacks against the South Asian community in Brampton, Mississauga, Caledon, and British Columbia in Canada and California in the United States.

This is the latest instance of foreign gun squads targeting the Indian diaspora in Canada. In recent years, the diaspora has been frequently targeted with threats as well as violent incidents. Temples have also been frequent vandalised.

Extortion Task Force Takes Down International Criminal Group Targeting South Asian Communityhttps://t.co/C0KbPLkvGN pic.twitter.com/9QNzoMqR6l

The development comes at a time when Canada has been cracking down on international criminal networks operating on its soil, such as the Bishnoi gang linked to jailed Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. For years, Canada has also been striving to tackle Chinese foreign interference and transnational repression.

The network involved in 24 incidents

The police said the network has been accused of involvement in 24 incidents, including 14 violent cases associated with For Brothers.

These violent incidents included arson and multiple shootings that involved the firing of 324 bullets.

Several businesses, including restaurants and trucking companies, were repeatedly targeted after refusing to comply with extortion demands, highlighting the group’s persistence and increasingly violent tactics, the police said.

In one incident, as per the police, two of the accused were responsible for a shooting and arson at a residential address in Caledon, followed minutes later by another shooting targeting a business in Brampton. Bboth the places are in Ontario.

Separately, The Bureau reported Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown as saying that none of the 17 accused are Canadian citizens.

Previously, the outlet reported that Canada’s extortion crisis targeting the Indo-Canadian community is being driven by international organised criminal groups that have exploited designated learning institutes and immigration consultant shops through massive fraud.

According to the outlet, these establishments coerce vulnerable student migrants into serving in extortion squads.

First Published: May 26, 2026, 11:26 IST