Peel police arrest 5 men in violent extortion cases

Peel police have arrested five men in relation to violent extortion incidents in the Greater Toronto Area between December 2023 and May 2024.

Police say the men were allegedly involved in multiple extortion incidents where victims were assaulted and threatened, in some cases using firearms.

The arrests, which police announced in a news release Friday, come nearly four months after police arrested five other men and laid two dozen charges in connection to 29 extortion incidents, nine of which included firing guns.

Peel police launched an extortion investigative task force last December in response to a wave of South Asian business owners reporting threats of violence against them and their families if they didn't pay money to prevent it.

The task force has received reports of 60 extortion cases since January 2024, Const. Moulika Sharma told CBC Toronto in an emailed statement.

A 36-year-old Brampton man was charged with criminal harassment, failure to comply, conspiracy to commit indictable offence and extortion.

A 51-year-old Brampton man was charged with assault, forcible confinement, extortion, possession of property obtained by crime and uttering threats.

A 39-year-old man of unknown address was charged with assault, forcible confinement and extortion.

Two 32-year-old Mississauga men were charged with criminal harassment.

The men were held for bail hearings at the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton, police say.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Peel police. They can also submit information anonymously via Crime Stoppers.