Bishnoi gang letter to Canadian police claims 5,000 members in Canada

Floyd Brenz., Philippine Canadian Inquirer
September 17, 2026

Photo Courtesy: CBC NEWS

CANADA – A letter allegedly sent by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to Canadian authorities has shed new light on the scale and threats associated with the criminal network behind an extortion crisis targeting South Asian communities across Canada.

CBC News obtained the letter through an Access to Information Act request involving evidence presented at an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing. The document, sent to the Abbotsford Police Department in British Columbia in August 2025, claimed the gang had 5,000 members in Canada and more guns than police.

The letter also threatened Canadian authorities and claimed that gang members were prepared to carry out shootings for money. It warned businesses that they would have to pay what the gang described as a “tax” or protection money, regardless of the owners’ ethnicity.

The contents provide a more detailed picture of the extortion network that Canadian police have been investigating. Earlier testimony by an Edmonton police investigator had revealed that a letter from the gang claimed it had more than 1,000 people willing to carry out shootings. The newly obtained document contains a much larger claim of 5,000 members.

The letter forms part of a wider body of evidence gathered by Canadian law-enforcement agencies investigating shootings, arsons and extortion cases linked to the Bishnoi network. Police documents have connected alleged operatives to cases across British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.

Canadian authorities have also pursued immigration and deportation proceedings against alleged members and associates of the network. The documents obtained by CBC were linked to the case of Jashandeep Singh, an alleged Bishnoi associate who was ordered deported after an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing.

The letter has since become part of the broader investigation into how an India-based organized crime network allegedly established cells in Canada, recruited young operatives and used threats and violence to pressure business owners.