Canada police reveal Bishnoi threat letter

Toronto: Canadian police have revealed the Lawrence Bishnoi gang sent a letter to a police station in British Colu­m­bia last year claiming it had over 1,000 people willing to carry out shootings as part of its extortion operations targe­ting the South Asian diaspora.

The letter, delivered to a police station in Abbotsford on Aug 13, 2025, surfaced during a deportation hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board, where Edmonton Police Service Constable Kevin St Louis testified about its contents. According to St Louis, the letter outlined the gang’s criminal network and claimed it had over 1,000 individuals prepared to conduct shootings. It stated businesses were required to pay “tax”, which police said reflected the gro­up’s extortion-driven motive.

The Abbotsford Police Dept confirmed receiving the letter. Sergeant Paul Walker said details were shared with law enforcement agencies tackling extortion-related crimes across Canada and that investigators had examined its origin and contents.

The testimony came during proceedings involving a man suspected of belonging to an Edmonton-based extortion gang linked to violent incidents in at least three Canadian provinces. St Louis told the Board extortion threats against South Asian business owners are frequen­tly made through WhatsApp. 

He identified Jora Sidhu as the key individual allegedly handling communications for the extortion network, adding cops linked him to the threats through voice-matching ana­lysis. They belie­ve Sidhu was operating and making the demands from outside Cana­da, St Louis testified.

—PTI