Langley RCMP extortion investigation with FBI leads to arrest, charges laid

The Langley RCMP says a suspect has been arrested in the U.S. and charges have been laid following a joint investigation with the FBI into an extortion case going back to 2024.

Police say a Langley resident reported receiving threatening phone calls from an unknown phone number on May 27, 2024. After what Mounties say was a “months-long, complex, and dynamic investigation,” Jasmeet Singh was identified as a suspect.

After RCMP investigators determined Singh was living in Fresno, Calif., they connected with the FBI and an RCMP Liaison Officer in San Francisco.

“As a result of cross-border and agency collaboration, additional evidence was gathered, and police began to further the investigation,” the Langley RCMP said.

“As a result of the investigative efforts of police in Langley and from the FBI, the decision was made for the FBI to proceed with the charge approval process in their jurisdiction.”

The agencies then continued to work together to gather and share additional information.

Langley RCMP Sgt. Zynal Sharoom tells 1130 NewsRadio the process in investigations of this nature can take “quite some time.”

“A lot of judicial authorizations are required,” Sharoom said.

“Now knowing that the suspect was not even in our country, a lot of collaboration was done between the FBI in the United States and the federal arm of the RCMP.”

Sharoom was unable to provide further details as to the number of threatening calls the victim received or why that person was targeted, referring those questions to the FBI.

Canada’s South Asian community has been targeted by a wave of extortion threats, and some have been linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi crime group based in India.

U.S. authorities say Singh is being held in custody while awaiting trial.

If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a US$250,000 fine.

We have reached out to the FBI for more information.

— With files from The Canadian Press