Bishnoi gang threatened attacks, had 1,000 shooters ready: Canadian police to court

New Delhi,UPDATED: Jun 1, 2026 13:54 IST

The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has created alarm within law enforcement in Canada's British Columbia, threatening to carry out shootings across the country and claiming to have 1,000 members "ready and raring to go", a local court has been told, as authorities struggle to contain a growing extortion crisis. The contents of the letter, sent to a police station in Abbotsford in August 2025, were partially revealed during a deportation hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board, The Independent reported.

According to police testimony, the group described its protection racket as the collection of "taxes" and warned that businesses in Canada would face violence if they failed to pay. The gang, which Canada designated as a terrorist entity last year, is based in India but is also believed to have a presence in the US, UK, Australia and the UAE.

Constable Kevin St Louis told the board that the letter outlined the gang’s structure and capabilities. “This specific letter outlined essentially their criminal organisation, where they talked about having upwards of 1,000 individuals who are willing to carry out these shootings as a part of the group,” he said, as reported by The Independent.

“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,” he added.

Sergeant Paul Walker told Canada’s Global News that detectives were examining where the letter came from and what it contained. “Details of this letter were shared with our law enforcement partners engaged in combating the extortion crisis across Canada,” he said, adding, “I’m not in a position to comment further on any of the details contained within the letter or investigative steps taken since.”

In recent years, Canadian police have been grappling with organised crime, shootings and extortion schemes targeting members of the South Asian community.

Over the past two years, several high-profile incidents have made headlines, including the shooting outside singer AP Dhillon's residence and gunfire at a cafe linked to comedian Kapil Sharma, both reportedly tied to extortion demands attributed to the Bishnoi gang. Canada is home to around 3.38 million people of Indian origin or Indian citizens, accounting for approximately 8.3 per cent of the country's population.

The detective also testified that the gang raises money by using Indians in Canada who are paid “small” sums to carry out targeted shootings and killings. He said some of those recruited were drawn by the feeling of being part of a group. “I think a lot of them look at it as kind of being a part of an organisation or a group,” he said, adding that “a lot of them are being targeted at schools,” The Independent further reported.

According to the officer, extortion gangs are targeting South Asian business owners and residents and demanding large payments, with those refusing to pay facing retaliatory shootings at their homes and businesses.

“Every individual that we’ve identified during this investigation is a temporary foreign worker or on a student visa and relatively new to Canada,” he said.

The officer added that extortion demands were usually sent through WhatsApp and often used the names of Lawrence Bishnoi or his former close associate Goldy Brar. The testimony and the letter have added to concerns over the scale of the extortion network and the threat of violence linked to it in Canada.

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