Archive · 6 Aug 2026
CBSA Report: Bishnoi Gang Exploited Canada's Student Visa System
In Canada, government officials wrote a secret report about a dangerous group called the Bishnoi gang.
The report says the gang's leader in Canada, Goldy Brar, first came to the country on a student visa.
The gang used people with student and work visas to help them do crimes, and many of those people were young students from India.
Between 2019 and 2023, thousands of Indian students in Canada were charged with many crimes, and most of those crimes were violent ones.
The gang scared people into giving them money, which is called extortion.
In 2024, extortion charges against Indian citizens went up a lot, even while Canada's overall extortion rate went down.
The gang even paid a student to shoot at the home of a famous singer named AP Dhillon.
Police in India say Canada is not sending the gang leaders back to India fast enough.
They believe criminals are using Canada's refugee system to avoid being sent home.
The two countries are still trying to fix this problem together.
A classified CBSA report, 'The Bishnoi Gang: An Emerging Threat in Canada', prepared in December 2025, says the Lawrence Bishnoi gang built its Canadian network using Indian nationals who entered on student and temporary work visas.
Senior gang leader Satinderjit Singh, alias Goldy Brar, arrived in Canada in 2017 on a student visa and filed a refugee claim in February 2019 before going underground after his claim was declared abandoned.
Between 2019 and 2023, about 4,000 Indian study permit holders faced 17,929 charges in Canada, with 97 per cent of serious and organised crime offences involving violence.
Extortion charges against Indian nationals rose 47 per cent in 2024 even as Canada's overall extortion rate declined by about 10 per cent.
Indian intelligence sources allege New Delhi has shared dossiers, Interpol Red Notices and extradition requests for Goldy Brar, but Canadian authorities have been slow to act.
- Who
- The Lawrence Bishnoi gang's Canadian network, led by Satinderjit Singh alias Goldy Brar, along with Indian nationals recruited through student and work visa pathways.
- What
- A classified CBSA report revealed how the gang exploited Canada's student visa and work permit systems to run extortion, shootings and other organised crime.
- When
- The CBSA report was prepared in December 2025 and reported in August 2026; its crime data covers 2016 to 2024.
- Where
- Canada, with recruitment hubs in Brampton, Ontario, and Edmonton, Alberta, and operations spanning British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario that extend into India.
- Why
- Weak background screening and Canada's refugee protection system allowed gang members to enter and operate, while Indian agencies allege slow Canadian action on extradition requests.
India's security agencies
Canadian authorities and Sikh community leaders
Extradition of gang leaders
India's security agencies
India says it has repeatedly shared actionable dossiers, Interpol Red Notices and formal extradition requests for Goldy Brar and associates, but Canadian authorities have been slow to act, allowing gang leaders to run extortion rackets and coordinate contract killings from Canada.
Canadian authorities and Sikh community leaders
Canada processes such matters through its refugee protection system and lengthy legal proceedings, which must run their course before deportation or extradition can take place.
Use of the refugee protection system
India's security agencies
Indian sources allege gang members exploit Canada's refugee protection system by filing asylum claims to shield themselves from deportation and delay extradition, aided by weak background screening and easily forged documents.
Canadian authorities and Sikh community leaders
Canadian law provides refugee protection to asylum claimants, and due legal process must be followed before any deportation or extradition can occur.
Alleged state links to the gang
India's security agencies
Indian intelligence sources allege that Canadian authorities have allowed organised crime networks and violent extremists to operate under the umbrella of freedom of speech and political activism, enabling foreign-based gang leaders to run extortion rackets and coordinate contract killings in India while enjoying impunity in Canada.
Canadian authorities and Sikh community leaders
Canadian authorities have accused Indian diplomats of sharing intelligence with the Bishnoi gang, and Sikh Federation of Canada leader Moninder Singh says the central issue is how Indian intelligence and diplomatic officials used the criminal network to surveil, intimidate, extort and attack Sikhs in Canada.
- Report
- 'The Bishnoi Gang: An Emerging Threat in Canada', a classified CBSA tactical guide
- Report prepared
- December 2025
- Indian study permit holders charged (2019-2023)
- About 4,000 people with 17,929 charges
- Violent offences share
- 97 per cent of serious/organised crime offences
- Extortion charges against Indian nationals (2024)
- Rose 47 per cent
- Canada's overall extortion rate (2024)
- Declined about 10 per cent
- Charges against Indian study-visa holders (2024)
- Over 13,040, an 8,800 per cent increase from 2016
- Goldy Brar's refugee claim
- Filed February 2019; missed June 2022 hearing; declared abandoned
