The targeted businesses include restaurants and bakeries, trucking and transport companies and independent used car dealerships, all with South Asian owners, police said.
A specialized Peel police task force is investigating 29 extortion cases and has laid charges against five more people in connection with some of those incidents, the service says.
Police say their extortion investigative taskforce has made five arrests in a 'disturbing trend' that has targeted primarily the south Asian community in Peel Region.