Calgary police hold meeting to discuss spike in extortion cases

Surveillance footage obtained by CTV News shows a masked man firing at least seven shots into a home in the 100 block of Redstone Common N.E. on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (Supplied)

Calgary police will be meeting with northeast community members Thursday to discuss how to curb a rising number of extortion incidents plaguing the city.

Authorities are holding a formal meeting set for 5:30 p.m. at the Dashmesh Culture Senior Society to reassure and inform the public about what police know and what they are doing to stop the rising violence.

CPS, ALERT and Crime Stoppers will be in attendance “to better understand what extortion frauds are, how to prevent yourself from becoming a victim, and what to do if you believe you or someone you know has become a victim.”

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Since 2025, there have been 13 reports of extortion in Calgary, with the most recent being a shooting in the northeast community of Redstone. Besides that, police say there have been 10 more shootings.

Investigators say the cases follow a similar pattern involving threats, demands for money and pressuring victims to prevent them from seeking help.

Police say underreporting remains one of the biggest challenges in the investigation.

“These criminals are brazen. They don’t care where they are, what community they’re in, what innocent victim is standing by,” said Calgary’s Police Chief Katie McLellan at a media availability on Jan. 29.

“We’re doing as much as we can, number one, to prevent that and intervene, and number two, to bring those responsible before the courts and have them prosecuted.”

Calgary isn’t the only Canadian city that been victimized by individuals who appear to be targeting members of the South Asian community.

Other reports of violence have taken place in other jurisdictions, including in B.C.’s Lower Mainland, which has seen three roughly dozen reports of extortion since the beginning of the year.

Alleged links to immigration exploitation

Rishi Nagar, news director at Red FM — a Calgary-based South Asian radio station — says he’s been hearing about extortion threats in the community for more than a year.

He says many of the cases appear tied to disputes involving labour market impact assessments, or LMIAs.

“Only those businesses, only those people, are being targeted who had some time exploited or sold LMIAs,” Nagar said.

He explained LMIAs allow employers to hire workers from overseas when Canadians can’t fill positions.

“Every time when a business finds that there are no more Canadians working for them, then we have this LMIA,” he said.

Nagar alleges some employers sell those approvals to prospective workers for large sums.

“If somebody is ready to pay $20,000, $30,000 — maybe $60,000 in some cases,” he said.

He says when workers later face expiring permits or visas, some demand their money back.

“Now they are on the verge of losing everything, and now they are going back to their home country, but now they want their money returned,” Nagar said, adding many “spent thousands of dollars on LMIAs,” were underpaid and exploited.

In some cases, he says, disputes over those payments have escalated into threats and violence.

“This crime has come out of this exploitation and malpractices,” Nagar said.

He added there are other elements at play, including alleged international connections.

“In rather two cases, the people sitting in India… made calls,” Nagar said, adding shootings in Canada followed within days.

Nagar also warned extortion is increasingly being treated as a low-risk criminal enterprise.

“So just give a call, get money and leave,” he said.

He says fear is growing in affected neighbourhoods.

“People are scared. People are not safe,” Nagar said. “Who knows next day, I’m the public today, but tomorrow I will be the target.”

Nagar added residents are calling for a stronger police presence.

“They want more police presence,” he said, warning frustration could push some toward vigilantism.

“In B.C., I’ve heard people are going for gun training. They are applying for the licence,” Nagar said.

“So if this thing goes popular, this is going to be a dangerous thing.”

‘People want peace of mind’: Ward 5 councillor

Ward 5 Coun. Raj Dhaliwal says residents are anxious following several violent incidents in recent days.

“I’m in touch with the community members. I talk to them every day, pretty much,” Dhaliwal said.

“The events that have happened there in last week to 10 days, they’re concerning. People want peace of mind. People want to live peacefully, go about their business.”

Dhaliwal added the visible police presence has added to the stress for some residents.

“When there’s a disruption, they have police in their community, cops, helicopters overhead — it’s not good,” he said, adding Redstone is “a beautiful community” and should not be seen as a trouble spot.

He says he has reached out to police and multiple levels of government, calling for more than just discussions.

“There’s got to be some action. It just can’t be talk,” Dhaliwal said.

“They’re seeing all this happening in our communities, in our backyard. So they need to act now.”

Dhaliwal also said residents are frustrated by the lack of information and that community members are looking for concrete steps to improve safety.

“Residents are looking for that. They’re saying, ‘Okay, well, you know what? We don’t feel safe going outside. We get these calls, we get our houses shot at. What is happening?’” Dhaliwal said.

“I’m not going to sit idle until there is a concrete, robust plan in place that is properly dealing with this.”

Meanwhile, nearby residents say a recent Redstone shooting has left them shaken.

Calgary police responded around 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 24 after multiple rounds were fired into a home in the 100 block of Redstone Common N.E.

“We heard some pops and loud noise because it’s so close from us, but we weren’t sure what’s really happening,” said Jose Valdez, who lives near the scene and operates a day home.

“That’s scary.”

Valdez said safety concerns have some families reconsidering staying in the neighbourhood.

“We’re about to look for another place to live,” Valdez said.

“We want security for the kids. Security is better for us to stay in this community.”

Another resident, Emmanul Bakle, said having a shooting occur just doors away from where he lives was unnerving.

“They just shot at the house. No one was close, but it was just multiple shots at the house, and they were asking for money,” Bakle said.

“It’s insane.”

Bakle said he wants to see a stronger police presence.

“It would be great if there was a police station here making sure like, ‘Hey, we’re here. We mean business. We’re here to protect you guys,’” he said.

“And even just offering some tips for people.”

Online registration for Thursday’s meeting is mandatory as seating is limited, and identification will be required upon arrival.

The meeting will not be recorded by media.