Edmonton man kidnapped, taken to Calgary in new extortion investigation

Police are searching for 1 suspect in an alleged Alberta extortion plot involving an Edmonton man who was taken to Calgary

Five more men are facing charges in connection with an extortion case in which an Edmonton man was forcibly taken from his home.

Police say between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on May 6, a man was taken from his home and assaulted, threatened and forced into a vehicle.

The Calgary Police Service (CPS) says four suspects have already been arrested, while a fifth has so far eluded capture.

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In the incident, the victim was driven from Edmonton to Calgary and taken to a home in Cityscape, where more suspects and vehicles were waiting.

Police say the suspects’ goal was to lure the victim’s friend out of the home.

The victim refused to help the suspects and was assaulted while the intended target attempted to leave with his wife. The suspects followed them, threatened them and chased them back into the home.

The victims eventually contacted police, but the suspects left the scene prior to the arrival of CPS.

“Shortly after, police located a vehicle that was believed to be involved and conducted a traffic stop in the area near Métis Trail and 104 Avenue N.E. Two men were arrested during the traffic stop for their involvement in the Cityscape incident, however the initial Edmonton kidnapping remained unreported to police,” CPS said in Friday news release.

The suspects ended up driving the kidnapping victim back to Edmonton where he was released near his home. He contacted police soon afterward.

The two remaining suspects were captured on Tuesday after CPS conducted a traffic stop in the 600 block of Martindale Boulevard N.E.

Police recovered a “privately-manufactured firearm” in connection with the investigation.

‘Escalation in violence’

The following individuals – all Calgary residents – face charges of kidnapping, assault and various weapons charges:

• Akashdeep  Singh, 18;
• Taranveer Singh, 24;
• Pardeep Singh, 24; and
• Daksh Gautam, 25.

A fifth suspect, Gagandeep Singh, 29, of Calgary, is still wanted by CPS.

“This is a significant escalation in violence in the extortion incidents that we have seen in Calgary so far,” said Supt. Jeff Bell of the CPS criminal operations and intelligence division.

“Since this series began, we have been working very closely with our policing partners nationally to share information and co-ordinate our response, which allowed us to quickly make arrests in this case.”

CPS says since April 2025, there have been 45 extortion-related incidents in the city.

Nineteen of those incidents involved shootings that targeted homes, businesses and vehicles.

So far, 11 people have been charged.

“A dedicated extortion email address, [e-mail], has also been created for individuals to share information directly with investigations,” CPS said.

“If you are the victim of extortion, do not pay and contact police immediately.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police by calling 403-266-1234. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers through any of the following methods:

• TALK: 1-800-222-8477
• TYPE: www.calgarycrimestoppers.org
• APP: P3 Tips