Ottawa: A Canadian intelligence assessment has reportedly identified the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as a growing transnational criminal threat and alleged that the group exploited student visas and work-permit pathways to recruit young people into an extortion and violent-crime network.
The classified report, titled “The Bishnoi Gang: An Emerging Threat in Canada,” was reportedly circulated among Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) immigration officers in December 2025. It was prepared as a tactical document to help officials identify and counter the gang’s activities, particularly those affecting Canada’s South Asian communities.
According to the assessment, the gang has increasingly relied on Canada-based recruits to expand its operations in North America. Investigators said extortion, shootings and threats against businesses had emerged as key elements of the group’s activities in the country.
Businesses allegedly targeted through threats
The report said gang-linked individuals allegedly contacted Indian-origin business owners through messaging applications and demanded large sums of money. Those who refused to comply were allegedly threatened with attacks, with some incidents involving shootings at homes, restaurants, shops and other commercial establishments.
In some cases, attackers allegedly recorded the incidents and circulated the footage online while claiming association with the Bishnoi network. Investigators believe such videos were intended to intimidate other potential targets.
The assessment also reportedly examined the recruitment of individuals who arrived in Canada as international students.
Student visa holder allegedly recruited
One case cited in the report involves Abhijeet Kingra, who reportedly travelled to Canada on a student visa in 2018. During subsequent deportation proceedings, Kingra said he had faced financial difficulties.
The intelligence report alleged that he was subsequently recruited to carry out a shooting for payment.
In September 2024, Kingra was accused of firing 14 rounds at the British Columbia residence of Punjabi singer AP Dhillon, while an associate allegedly set fire to vehicles outside the property.
Goldy Brar identified in recruitment network
The CBSA assessment reportedly identified Goldy Brar, a close associate of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, as an important figure in the group’s recruitment efforts.
According to the report, Brar entered Canada in 2017 on a student visa and said he intended to study at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia. Canadian investigators allegedly believe he later became involved in recruiting young Indian nationals into the criminal network.
The assessment said financially vulnerable students and unemployed youth, particularly those with links to Punjab and communities in Brampton and Edmonton, were among those allegedly targeted.
Brar has also been the subject of action by US authorities. The FBI has listed him as wanted and announced a reward for information leading to his arrest. A US federal warrant has reportedly accused him of racketeering, extortion and drug-trafficking offences connected to the Bishnoi organisation.
Report links student permit holders to criminal cases
The intelligence assessment also reportedly examined broader crime statistics involving Indian nationals who entered Canada through study-permit programmes.
According to figures cited in the report, around 4,000 Indians who entered Canada on study permits were charged with nearly 17,929 offences between 2019 and 2023. Of these, approximately 4,920 charges were categorised as serious offences or cases involving organised crime.
The report further claimed that Indian citizens in Canada holding study permits faced more than 13,000 criminal charges in 2024.
However, such figures do not establish that international students generally have links to organised crime. The alleged Bishnoi recruitment network represents a specific criminal investigation, and the vast majority of Indian students and temporary residents in Canada have no connection to the gang.
The intelligence report’s disclosure comes as Canadian authorities continue to examine the activities of transnational criminal groups and their alleged links to violent incidents and extortion targeting South Asian communities.
