Bishnoi Extortion Gang Sent Letter to Canadian Police Warning It Had 1,000 Gunmen

The India-based gang behind Canada’s extortion crisis sent a letter to a B.C. police station last year boasting that it had 1,000 foot soldiers willing to carry out shootings, a police officer revealed on Thursday.

Testifying at a deportation hearing, the extortion investigator described the letter from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang that was delivered to a police station in Abbotsford, B.C., on Aug. 13, 2025.

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“This specific letter outlined essentially their criminal organization, where they talked about having upwards of 1,000 individuals that are willing to carry out these shootings as a part of the group,” he said.

“It also alludes to how every business needs to pay their tax, which I think clearly demonstrates the monetary gain that this group is looking to obtain as a result of these extortions.”

The Abbotsford Police Department confirmed the letter.

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The letter emerged at a deportation hearing for an alleged member of an Edmonton-based extortion gang linked to violence in three provinces.

Appearing as a witness, St. Louis gave a rare briefing on the Bishnoi crime group, which was placed on Canada’s list of designated terrorist groups last September.

The Edmonton Police Service detective is a member of Project Al-Extortion, which is investigating organized crime targeting members of Alberta’s South Asian community.

Headed by Lawrence Bishnoi, who operates out of the Indian prison where he has been held since 2015, the crime group has set off a crime wave targeting South Asian Canadians.

To extort money from its victims, the Bishnoi gang relies on Indian nationals in Canada who are paid “small” amounts to conduct shootings but are also seeking a sense of belonging, the detective testified.

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The extortion gangs contact South Asian business owners and individuals to demand large sums of money. If the victims do not pay, their homes and businesses are sprayed with gunfire, the officer said.

The demands for money are always made over WhatsApp, often referencing Lawrence Bishnoi or his one-time right-hand man Goldy Brar, he said.

But most of the calls come from another Bishnoi member named Jora Sidhu.

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The Bishnoi group fractured last fall due to a falling out between its India-based namesake and Brar, his Canadian lieutenant. After that, the group’s tactics changed, he added.

Following the rift, gang members began shooting at homes and businesses without first contacting the owners to demand money, which he said reflected a degree of “disorganization.”

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Copycat groups have also emerged, capitalizing on the fear of extortion gangs, he said. But while they name-drop the Bishnoi gang and its leaders, they do not conduct shootings, St. Louis said.

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The gangs also move firearms between provinces, making them “practically impossible” to trace. In one case, a gun was used in extortion shootings in two provinces within a 24-hour period, he said.

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As of May 7, the CSA had opened 446 investigations into extortion suspects and issued 118 removal orders, while 55 had already been deported.

The bulk of the cases, 188, were in the Toronto region, followed by B.C. with 132 and the Prairies, where 126 investigations had been launched.

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India denies any involvement, and as recently as this week its top envoy in Ottawa told the Globe and Mail that Canada’s national security agencies had been “compromised.”

Asked if India’s High Commissioner would be expelled for his remarks, Foreign Minister Anita Anand’s staff did not respond.