India, May 27 -- Canadian police have arrested 17 persons, believed to be of Indian origin, for their alleged involvement in extortion and organised crime targeting South Asian business owners and community members in the region.

The Extortion Task Force of the Peel Police "dismantled a coordinated campaign of intimidation, threats, and escalating violence used to extort local businesses", according to a press release issued by the Peel Regional Police on its official website.

The majority of the arrested individuals have ties to an international criminal network known as 'For Brothers', which targeted South Asian business owners and community members across the region in Canada and the United States, it said. The organised criminal net...