Indian intelligence agencies have flagged a sharp rise in copycat extortion networks operating across India and Canada, with smaller criminal actors exploiting the feared reputations of established gangs — particularly those of Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar — to extort money without any actual organisational link to those networks. The development has emerged as a fresh security challenge even as the National Investigation Agency (NIA), acting on a directive from the Union Home Ministry, has already moved against major players in the gangster-terror nexus.

How Copycat Networks Operate

According to security officials, these smaller actors are not affiliated with the larger gang structures but invoke their names during extortion attempts to manufacture fear and compliance. The tactic works because gangsters such as Brar have, in recent months, publicly claimed responsibility for shootings and extortion on social media — a deliberate strategy, officials say, to project an image of operating above the law.

This open admission of crime, according to an Intelligence Bureau official, has created a ready-made template for opportunistic criminals. 'They are trying to tell people that they are well above the law and they can commit a crime and even speak about it openly,' the official said. Smaller gangs have exploited this atmosphere of fear for quick financial gain, with no ideological or organisational connection to the parent networks.

The Khalistan-ISI Link in the Larger Network

While copycat actors operate independently, the larger gang networks — including those of Bishnoi and Brar — maintain documented links with Khalistan terror groups and, according to officials, with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The NIA has flagged on multiple occasions that these networks have been tasked with carrying out targeted attacks in Punjab under the banner of the Khalistan movement.

In return, according to officials, the ISI facilitates narcotics and arms supply to these gangs, who then provide services to build momentum for the Khalistan cause. The Canada-based gang operations have been directing ground-level activity in Punjab and remain under joint surveillance by Indian and Canadian agencies.

Indian Students Targeted in Canada

A particularly alarming dimension of the Canada-based extortion ecosystem involves Indian nationals on study permits. Investigations have found that some of these students have been coerced into participating in targeted acts of violence against South Asian diaspora communities across Canada.

Canadian authorities confirmed this development and disclosed that 138 immigration investigations have been launched nationwide following the discovery of student involvement. During these operations, authorities issued 37 removal orders, of which 18 individuals have already been removed from the country. Authorities also released details of 15 Indian-origin men identified as part of a deep-rooted extortion racket operating in Canada.

Why Copycat Actors Are Hard to Crack

Security officials acknowledge that investigating copycat networks is significantly harder than pursuing established gang hierarchies. Larger networks have traceable structures — financial flows, chain-of-command links, and communication patterns — that investigators can map over time.

Copycat actors, by contrast, operate without any discernible structure, leave minimal data trails, and frequently cause investigations to stall before a breakthrough is achieved, an official noted. This structural opacity makes them a persistent, low-visibility threat that is difficult to pre-empt. As agencies recalibrate their approach, the challenge will be developing new investigative frameworks suited to structureless, opportunistic criminal behaviour.