Court appearance held for 3 men charged in Surrey, B.C., extortion probe

Three accused will face a bail hearing Wednesday as part of a widespread investigation into extortion crime in Surrey.

A bail hearing was held Wednesday at Surrey Provincial Court for three men who have been charged in connection with a wider extortion and firearms investigation stirring concern across the South Asian business community.

The accused are Arundeep Singh, 26, Nirmaandeep Cheema, 20, and Mandeep Singh Gidda, 23 — three of seven men facing charges following a months-long probe led by a provincial task force.

All three appeared in court by video.

Each of the three is charged with reckless discharge of a firearm in connection with incidents police believe are linked to an ongoing pattern of extortion attempts targeting South Asian-owned restaurants and businesses.

Because of a Section 517 publication ban, evidence and details discussed during the hearing cannot be reported until the case concludes.

Investigators allege business owners received calls and messages demanding payment and warning that their properties would be shot at or set on fire if they didn’t comply.

The arrests come amid a spike in violence, including four shootings in Surrey last Monday — two of them at the same Ustaad G76 restaurant chain, which had also been targeted earlier in Maple Ridge.

Authorities are still working to determine whether those incidents are linked to the larger extortion network.

The federal government recently designated the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as a terrorist organization, and police are also exploring whether some of the threats may be connected to the group — or to so-called “copycat” offenders imitating its tactics.

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke says not every case appears gang-related.

“I don’t know the exact reason for that. Except to say that sounds like copycat that are out there to just take what they can get,” she told CTV News.

Community members say fear continues to ripple through the business community.

“People sometimes think this only the elite people are at risk or people who make good money,” said Gurpreet Sahota, a Punjabi radio host. “But once they are finished with them they will come after the common person.”

The RCMP-led task force continues to investigate, and officials say more arrests could follow as police track suspects across the Lower Mainland.

Cheema and Gidda are both scheduled to return to court on Oct. 15, while Singh will appear again on Oct. 23.