Calgary police have charged four men they say kidnapped a man in what they call an “elaborate scheme” related to the ongoing extortion against members of the city’s South Asian community.
They are still looking for a fifth man, and believe other suspects may have been involved.
The incident unfolded the evening of Wed., May 6, according to a police news release.
They say suspects assaulted and threatened the man at gunpoint to kidnap him from a residence in Edmonton between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.
After that they allegedly drove him to Calgary to his friend’s home in the northeast community of Cityscape, where additional suspects were waiting.
Together, police say they tried to force the kidnapping victim to lure his friend — who was the intended target — outside. He refused and police say he was assaulted again. Police say the man was driven back to Edmonton early the next morning, and released near his home.
Police arrested two men during a traffic stop on the night of the alleged kidnapping, and arrested two more on Tues., May 12.
The suspects are all from Calgary. Daksh Gautam, 25, Taranveer Singh, 24, Pardeep Singh, 24, and Akashdeep Singh, 18, all face charges of kidnapping with a firearm, unlawful confinement, assault and assault with a weapon.
Police are looking for 29-year-old Gagandeep Singh, also of Calgary, who is wanted on warrants for kidnapping with a firearm, assault with a weapon, assault and unlawful confinement.
Police say he has tattoos of a woman on his right forearm and a blue and red eagle on his left forearm.
Police are still looking for 29-year-old Gagandeep Singh, wanted on warrants for kidnapping with a firearm, unlawful confinement and assault with a weapon. (Calgary Police Service)
A privately manufactured firearm, sometimes called a “ghost gun,” was seized as part of the investigation.
Extortion ‘escalation’
“This is a significant escalation in violence in the extortion incidents that we have seen in Calgary so far,” Calgary Police Supt. Jeff Bell said in a news release.
Calgary police have been dealing with a rise in extortion cases targeting members of the South Asian community since January of last year, and have called it one of the top issues the service is facing.
Police say they count 45 extortion incidents since April 2025, with 19 of those involving shootings at homes, businesses or vehicles.
Eleven people have been charged so far in these extortion incidents.