All of them possess legal visas to enter and stay in Canada. However, their purpose was not to study or work. They were brought to the country to engage in criminal operations. The Durham regional police arrested 46 individuals, including Indians, in connection with what they now term 'criminal tourism' -- a scheme where international organized crime groups send people to Canada for high-profit crimes. The investigation, named Project Jetsetter, spanned several years and linked over 200 incidents since 2019 and $2.6 million in financial losses to the network. A total of 1,500 charges have been filed.
Scope of the Racket
The criminal network covered a wide range of illegal activities: large-scale retail theft, vehicle-purchasing scams, jewelry theft, vehicle financing fraud, and staging collisions to commit insurance fraud.
“They will exploit opportunities wherever they exist, and while the methods may vary, the goal remains the same: to profit at the expense of our residents, our businesses and communities,” said Durham police chief Peter Moreira.
A majority of those arrested are from Romania and India.
“They travel quite frequently from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, they come here and they commit criminal offences, and a lot of times, they leave the country before we can identify who they are,” said detective Brad Chapman, adding that 164 suspects are still wanted.
“This activity is not unique to our region. We are seeing the same individuals, the same methods, and the same networks operate across the Greater Toronto Area and across Canada,” Chapman said. “These groups are mobile, coordinated, and in many cases connected to a broader organized crime network that extends beyond our borders.”
“Criminal tourism is a recent, borderless form of organized crime that impacts the daily lives of Canadians,” Mario Panizzon, director general of RCMP National Intelligence, said in a statement.
List of Indians Named for Criminal Tourism in Canada
Some of them have been arrested, while others are wanted:
- Parvadiya, Savan Dharmeshbhai
- Jagdeep Singh
- Gurpreet Kaur
- Arshdeep Gurm
- Harsimran Singh Dhillon
- Arshjot Singh Dhillon
- Gurinder Singh
- Pradeep Kumar
- Sher Singh
- Paramjeet Singh
- Jasdeep Singh
- Nitika Singla
