A 22-year-old Indian national accused of being involved in extortion-related activity has been removed from Canada.
In the first such public announcement in this regard, Surrey Police Service or SPS said that Lovebir Singh, a 22-year-old foreign national male who had been in Canada since the fall of 2023, was identified in early 2026 and was suspected as being involved in extortion-related criminal activity.
“SPS notified and shared information on the individual with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). As a result of their immigration investigation, Lovebir Singh was subsequently removed from Canada,” the release issued on Monday said. He is believed to have been sent back to India, a person familiar with the matter said. Indian officials have told the Hindustan Times that they will cooperate in taking back nationals accused of criminal activity as long as their citizenship can be established.
SPS also released his photograph “after determining that disclosure is necessary to assist with ongoing police investigations” and hoped the public release of this image “prompts additional witnesses, victims, or associates to come forward with relevant information regarding” his activities. “Any information provided by the public or associates can assist police in gathering information on the people and potential criminal networks involved in violent extortions,” it added.
The outlet CBC News reported that another Indian, Arshdeep Singh, who was arrested in Edmonton in November last year, was also removed from Canada for his connection to extortion-related violence spanning the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. In fact, Singh was pictured with Bandhu Maan Singh Sekhon, who was arrested by Delhi Police in India in November. Sekhon was considered the “prime conspirator” behind the shootings targeting Kap’s Café, the eatery in Surrey, British Columbia, owned by Indian celebrity Kapil Sharma.
Over 22,000 persons deemed inadmissible were removed from Canada last year, a new record.
According to data released by CBSA, the number of removals totaled 22,108. Of that number, 1,010 were were “subject to a serious inadmissibility (national security, war crimes or human rights violations, organised crime, and criminality),” CBSA noted.
While a breakdown by citizenship of the 2025 total was not provided, in the first ten months of last year, CBSA enforced removals of 2,831 Indians, out of a total of 18,785. That was the highest country-wise cohort after Mexicans at 3,972. Removals are in progress for 6,515 Indian nationals out of a total of 29,542.
A report in the outlet Global News linked some of the removals to the extortion crisis in the country, which has largely afflicted Indo-Canadian businesses and individuals in the suburbs of Toronto, Vancouver and in the cities of Edmonton and Calgary.
CBSA is investigating 296 people considered “persons of interest” by the British Columbia Extortion Task Force. As a consequence of the investigations, ten persons have been removed from the country and 32 others issued orders in that regard.
The overall high number of removals comes as Canadian authorities responded to public pressure and acted against immigrants violating laws over the past couple of years.
The total numbers jumped last year from the 17,357 recorded in 2024. The category with the highest numbers was that for non-compliance related to refugee claims, at 15,605. Law enforcement is also seeking expeditious removal of criminals.
Earlier, this month, SPS announced the arrest of five Indian nationals linked to extortion in the town in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia and engaged with the CBSA on the matter. They were identified as Harjot Singh, Taranveer Singh, Dayajeet Singh Billing, Harshdeep Singh and Hanspreet Singh.
On October 10, 2025, in a release, Peel Regional Police, for the first time, stated it was “actively engaged with the Peel Crown Attorney’s Office and the Canada Border Services Agency which will determine whether removal of accused foreign nationals from Canada may be pursued as part of the judicial process.”
That was in connection with the arrest of eight men in connection with the alleged theft of 450 pieces of mail, totalling a combined worth of more than CA$400,000.
Those arrested face a combined total of 344 charges and were identified as Sumanpreet Singh, Gurdeep Chattha, Jashandeep Jattana, Harman Singh, Jasanpreet Singh, Manroop Singh, Rajbir Singh, and Upinderjit Singh.
