'Residents are feeling unsafe': Edmonton politicians respond to news of extortion scheme
Edmonton's mayor has been in contact with businesses impacted by an extortion scheme, a spokesperson for his office confirms.
"The mayor was made aware by local businesses about these extortion calls and arson a couple of weeks ago.
"Mayor Sohi immediately reached out to the city manager and chief of police to share these concerns and has remained in touch with some of the impacted businesses," Justin Draper wrote in an email to CTV News Edmonton.
"The mayor appreciates the collective efforts of fire rescue and [Edmonton Police Service], and all businesses in Edmonton deserve to conduct their business without fear and intimidation."
EPS has confirmed it is investigating 18 cases of extortion involving local businesses since October.
Most of the business owners are members of the South Asian community.
Victims have allegedly received messages through WhatsApp or social media demanding payment of a large sum.
If the victim doesn't pay, fires are set at newly built homes or show homes.
EPS says there have also been follow-up demands for larger sums of money, which has escalated to violence, including drive-by shootings.
Six people have been charged in connection to the cases.
According to court documents obtained by CTV News Edmonton, Parminder Singh, 20, was arrested for 12 firearms-related charges in October.
He is accused of shooting at a home in the Laurel area. He also is accused of pointing his gun at police.
Fires in Cy Becker destroyed three homes in December.
Court documents say Hassan Dembil, Manav Heer, Ravinder Sandhu, and an underage male intentionally or recklessly caused damage by fire or explosion.
Police are also looking for a male who they believe is behind deliberately set fires that destroyed two houses in a west Edmonton neighbourhood in late December.
A person of interest in a deliberately set fire on Dec. 29 at Woodhaven Point. (Credit: Edmonton Police Service)
Three of the houses that were burned were in the Aster neighbourhood in southeast Edmonton.
The councillor that represents the area says she's worried.
"I am concerned, especially when reports are saying it could be extortion. I think that takes a lot of resources away from our fire service investigating and our police investigating, and it’s concerning for me that residents are feeling unsafe," Ward Sspomitapi Councillor Jo-Anne Wright told CTV News Edmonton.
A public safety analyst for CTV News believes there are likely additional victims who are afraid to come forward.
"If they don’t come forward it really hampers the police investigation and their ability to find out who’s doing these things," Chris Lewis said Thursday morning.
"Once the buildings have been burned as a result of an extortion then the police are playing catch up as opposed to trying to find out who is behind it from the moment the threat and correspondence is received."
CTV News Edmonton has made several requests to speak to the Canadian Homebuilder's Association with no success.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of a 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
How to keep insects out of your house, according to an entomologist and other experts
Now that temperatures have warmed up even more this spring, you may be anxious at the thought of bugs invading your home or you may already be battling the pests. Here are expert tips on how to keep them away.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
Community mourns victims of fatal boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
A woman took her dog to a shelter to be euthanized. A year later, the dog is up for adoption again
Exhausted and short on options after consulting two veterinary clinics, Kristie Pereira made the gut-wrenching decision last year to take her desperately ill puppy to a Maryland shelter to be euthanized.
Ford thanks Ottawa as minister cites 'deep concerns' over Toronto's decriminalization
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is thanking the federal government for rejecting Toronto's long-stalled pitch to decriminalize the possession of illegal drugs.
After toddler's near drowning in backyard pool, Quebec mom has warning for parents
A Quebec mother who saved her child from the bottom of a backyard pool last weekend has a message for other families.
'Quiet vacationing': Surveys show workers don't use all of their vacation days, play hooky
'Quiet vacationing' is the latest new term to describe the rough edges of office culture, and survey data shows it's widespread among North American workers.
Morgan Spurlock, Oscar-nominated director of 'Super Size Me,' dies at 53
Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, an Oscar-nominee who made food and American diets his life's work, famously eating only at McDonald's for a month to illustrate the dangers of a fast-food diet, has died. He was 53.