EDITOR'S NOTE: All charges against Const. Gurdeep Panaich were withdrawn by the Crown on June 23, 2015.

A 39-year-old award-winning York Region police officer is among five men charged in connection with an extortion investigation in Brampton.

A probe was launched in February after Brampton real estate salesperson Dale Mundi contacted officers alleging that false information detrimental to his personal and professional reputation was being circulated on the Internet, Peel police said in a news release.

This dissemination of information was followed by demands for a large sum of money to have the information removed, according to police.