‘Theft by blackmail’: Extortion cases pose troubling trend across Canada, police say

Police in Calgary have made the first arrest in a growing extortion investigation that included threats involving daycare locations. Kathy Le reports.

A recent arrest in Calgary is shedding light on a wave of extortion cases being seen across Canada, targeting members of the South Asian community and, in some cases, escalating to violence.

Police say the case marks Calgary’s first arrest linked to this series of extortion incidents.

A 45-year-old Calgary man, Rana Cheema, who is known to police, has been charged with extortion and uttering threats following an investigation into incidents that took place in March.

• Extortion, uttering threats charges laid in Calgary
• CBSA opens 372 immigration investigations

One of those incidents involved a shooting at a home in northeast Calgary. Weeks later, police say threats and vandalism targeted two daycare locations outside the city.

“At this time, we do not believe there was any risk to the children,” said Calgary police Supt. Jeff Bell.

Police say no one has been injured in any of the incidents in Calgary, despite the level of violence reported.

Since January 2025, investigators have recorded 41 extortion attempts in the city with 18 incidents involving shootings at homes, businesses or vehicles.

Bell said the arrest is an early step in a broader effort.

“This is just the start of our enforcement work. Our investigators are continuing to work diligently to fully understand the scope, identify additional suspects, and disrupt these groups,” he said.

He added Calgary is not alone in facing the issue.

“We’re facing similar problems to what a lot of major jurisdictions in Canada are. The Lower Mainland had some issues that started before ours.”

Experts say the trend first emerged in British Columbia before spreading east.

“It basically started out in the mainland and then jumped into Ontario and then Edmonton and then in Calgary,” said Doug King, a criminal justice professor at Mount Royal University.

What is extortion?

King described extortion as a crime rooted in intimidation.

“Extortion is basically theft by blackmail or a threat of violence,” he said.

“For a victim, you’re not only in fear of losing material things, money and that, but you’re now living the life of am I going to be harmed?”

Many of the cases are believed to have links to organized crime operating outside Canada, adding complexity to already difficult investigations.

“I’ll give you an example where a victim gets a WhatsApp call or message from a number that is essentially useless to investigators because it can be generated from anywhere,” said retired detective David Keagan.

Police have not confirmed whether Cheema is connected to any organized crime group, either in Canada or abroad.

They allege the accused was attempting to obtain large sums of money and gain control of businesses.