The suspect who is associated with the Bishnoi gang agrees to the deportation order
Canada’s refugee board has issued an order to deport the alleged gang member Lawrence Bishnoi who tried to stop the media from reporting on his case.
In a press conference on Friday, Sahibjot Singh agreed to release prohibited weapons to the gang and also agreed to be deported.
Although he denied being a member of a criminal group, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) accused him of being associated with the Bishnoi gang.
Singh, who appeared in court via camera from his lawyers’ office in Edmonton, is the latest of many Indians to be deported for their involvement in organized crime.
Before the trial began, Singh tried to prevent reporters from covering his case, saying he feared “retaliation” for his alleged involvement with the Bishnoi group.
“Furthermore, publication of Mr. Singh’s identity would expose him to greater visibility and discrimination in Canada and would put him at increased risk if extradited to India,” his lawyer wrote.
Singh also said he faces unspecified criminal charges in Canada, and that hearing about his deportation will prejudice his future case.
Global News successfully fought the publication ban.
The World Sikh Organization of Canada also opposed the ban, writing that “trials involving alleged members of the Bishnoi sect are of great public interest.”
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“Canadians should have the right to understand who they are, how they are involved in Canada, the nature and extent of their activities, whether they are acting independently or under the direction of others, and what role they may have played in acts of violence, intimidation, and oppression in other countries,” the organization wrote.
On June 26, the Immigration and Refugee Board ruled that Canadians have the right to make public how law enforcement agencies respond to fraud-related cases, and that the public hearing will not interfere with Singh’s trial.
In its decision to approve his dismissal, the board said Edmonton police have linked gangs based in Alberta to India in several countries.
Investigators intercepted calls from France, Portugal and the Netherlands, as well as Canada, Board member Trent Cook said in his decision.
“It shows that there is an international component,” he said.
A gang has hierarchy, “superior people who give orders and directions to subordinates,” Cook said in his ruling.
“It’s a complex network of people who rely on each other to commit these crimes,” he added. “It is a group of people that has been formed for a long time, united and working with one voice to intimidate the victims.”
Working in an Indian prison, Lawrence Bishnoi runs an international crime syndicate that profits from murder-for-hire and extortion.
It targets South Asian Canadians by sending them text messages demanding large sums of money and opening fire on their homes and businesses.
Canadian police have arrested suspected Bishnoi members in BC, Alberta and Ontario, but many have been transferred to the CBSA for extradition to India.
Many come to Canada on work and study permits.
The CBSA said it has opened 484 investigations into the money-laundering team across the country, and issued 139 removal orders since June 18. 81 have been removed from Canada.
On July 7, the United States indicted Lawrence Bishnoi and his North American lieutenant Goldy Brar for fraud – and the murder of BC Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
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