Accused Bishnoi gang member living in Alberta ordered deported

Accused Bishnoi gang member living in Alberta ordered deported

Sahibjot Singh, 21, appeared before the Immigration and Refugee Board on Friday

An Indian national living in Alberta who is accused of working for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang has been ordered deported by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB).

Sahibjot Singh, 21, was the subject of an admissibility hearing Friday after he was identified by authorities as a suspected member of the extortion network operating primarily in Ontario, Alberta and B.C.

Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship sought to have Singh deported for his participation in organized crime.

Singh did not fight the deportation order, which was made by IRB member Trent Cook shortly after a joint statement of facts was read into the record at the virtual hearing.

Singh did deny allegations that he is a member of the criminal organization or that he directly committed extortions in Canada, but he conceded that he participated in the organization’s criminal activity by “engaging in possession and discharge of unauthorized weapons.”

He also admitted that he’d been “wilfully blind to the nature of the organization.”

“There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Singh engaged in activity that is part of the organization's criminal activity,” said Cook, reading from the agreed facts.

“[This is] supported by the digital evidence seized from Mr. Singh’s cellphone.”

The extortion-related activities took place between May and December 2025 and are detailed in a comprehensive timeline of events exhibited at the hearing from the RCMP’s investigation into the Bishnoi network.

Cook also noted the pattern of crimes committed by the Bishnoi group includes extortion by phone calls or messages, drive-by shootings, arson, firearms offences, drug trafficking and criminal mischief.

While the criminal organization wasn’t named during Friday’s proceedings, pre-hearing applications make clear it is the Bishnoi gang at the heart of the case.

The presiding officer called the group a “sophisticated” hierarchical network and noted the RCMP investigation has intercepted phone calls from France, Portugal and Amsterdam.

The immigration ruling requires a lesser standard of proof than a criminal conviction.

Both parties agreed that the evidence in this case met the standard of “reasonable grounds to believe” that Singh was engaged in activity connected to organized crime, which is enough to rule a person inadmissible to Canada.

“It’s conceded that you voluntarily participated in this organization’s criminal activity by engaging in possession and discharge of unauthorized weapons,” said Cook.

Singh still faces criminal firearms-related offences in Edmonton and is due in court later this month to face those charges.

A person can't be deported while facing unresolved criminal charges.

CBC News reached out to Singh’s lawyer Simon Trela but did not receive a response.

Calgary police release photos in search for extortion investigation suspects

Since April 2025, police report 49 extortion-related incidents in Calgary, including 19 shootings. So far, police have arrested 16 people and laid a total of 56 charges.

Meanwhile, police in Edmonton have launched Project Insight, its latest operation for investigating South Asian extortion crimes.

Meghan Grant is a justice affairs reporter. She has been covering courts, crime and stories of police accountability in southern Alberta for more than 15 years. Send Meghan a story tip at meghan.grant@cbc.ca.