Extortionist gangs in Canada have caused enough targeted violence that officials want to call in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to break them up. Authorities are targeting the international “Bishnoi Gang,” a vast criminal syndicate run by an imprisoned man on the other side of the world.
Surrey, British Columbia, Mayor Brenda Locke on Tuesday announced a resolution asking for a national emergency declaration to stem a growing tide of extortion gangs in her city and others across America’s neighbor to the north.
“Surrey is facing a serious and growing crisis of organized extortion, intimidation and targeted shootings,” Locke said. “Residents and business owners are living in constant fear. Public safety is at risk, and the social and economic impact is real.”
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Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree told reporters in November that “extortion is deeply troubling, but we are putting everything we can at the table to ensure the safety and security of Canadians,” according to the Surrey Now-Leader.
Violence escalating
The paper listed police data showing “101 extortion-related files, 44 extortion-related shootings and 74 ‘unique victims’” in 2025 as of early December. But the violence appears to be escalating. The Tribune reported Surrey saw 35 extortion cases by mid-January, with eight shootings confirmed.
Locke said the federal government needs to deploy the RCMP to the Vancouver suburb, along with organized crime and other intelligence units. The city’s also asking for a review of “legislative gaps and recommendations to strengthen police capacity for arresting, charging and prosecuting offenders.”
Bishnoi gang
Notably, Locke demanded federal law enforcement carry out “(e)xpedited removal of non-citizens charged or convicted of extortion, firearms offences, or participation in extortion-related criminal activity.”
Surrey Police say the extortionist gangs target South Asian communities. The Indo-Canadian Voice reported that several of the alleged extortionists had claimed refugee status to avoid deportation once they were caught.
The Canadian government listed the Bishnoi Gang, a transnational criminal organization operating primarily out of India but reportedly has members in Canada and the U.S., as a terrorist entity in September 2025.
“The Bishnoi Gang engages in murder, shootings and arson, and generates terror through extortion and intimidation,” Public Safety Canada said in a news release. “They create a climate of insecurity in these communities by targeting them, their prominent community members, businesses, and cultural figures.”
CNN profiled the syndicate’s titular leader, Lawrence Bishnoi, in October 2025.
The gang leader operates his vast network of more than 700 members out of a prison cell in India using smuggled cellphones, the network reported. The gang is idealistic, targeting Sikh separatists that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accused Canada of harboring. Bishnoi took credit for the 2023 killing of a separatist leader in British Columbia.
