A notorious Canadian gangster has been found dead after being repeatedly shot in a suspected mob killing outside a luxury villa in Thailand.

Mandeep Singh, 30, was deported for ‘serious criminality’ six years from Vancouver, British Colombia, before fleeing to Dubai and then the popular holiday island of Phuket.

He was allegedly targeted in a gangland shooting and gunned down at around 10:30pm on Friday night outside the villa, which is part of The Beachfront Hotel Phuket close to Rawai Beach on the island.

Chilling CCTV footage shows Singh arriving home in a red MG before three men emerge holding semi-automatic handguns. They hide behind another vehicle parked in the driveway before pouncing on Singh and repeatedly opening fire – unloading at least 18 rounds into his body while he was on the ground.

Neighbours thought the sound was firecraskers being discharged for Chinese New Year but resort staff found Singh’s body at around 6:30 am local time before calling police. Officers cordoned off the scene and found bullet casing scattered around the ground.

Police said that Singh had at least 18 bullet wounds across his body. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Major General Sermphan Sirikong, commander of the Phuket Provincial Police, said officers are now checking CCTV around the hotel to find the killers.

He said: ‘The assailants broke into the hotel complex and used two different guns to kill the victim, who died at the scene.’

Police said that Singh arrived in Thailand on January 27 with a tourist visa. He also allegedly had a home in Dubai, around six hours away by plane.

The police chief added: ‘Officers examined CCTV footage at the scene of the crime and found that on February 4, at around 10:30 pm, the deceased arrived in a red MG vehicle.

‘In front of the villa at the scene while getting out of the car to enter the villa, there were two or three male assailants running in from a dark corner using firearms to fire until Mr Singh fell to his death, with the assailant taking only 10 seconds to commit the crime. They then ran back in the original direction.

‘An investigation of the vehicle and the crime scene found 19 torn 9mm and .380 bullets, marijuana and some cash.

‘Witnesses at the scene were a friend next to the villa and a housewife who found the body. They said there was a sound similar to firecrackers at the scene, but no one thought that it was the sound of guns until the morning when someone found the body, so the authorities were notified to check.’

Singh, who was born in Chennai, India, before moving to Canada aged seven, was allegedly part of the ‘United Nations’ gang in the country. He grew up with relatives in Abbotsford before getting caught up in gang life and convicted of serious assaults in 2010 and 2012.

He was deported in 2016 the arrested in India in 2018 where he was charged with operating a large ketamine factory. After he was released on bail, he disappeared and is believed to have been travelling between Dubai and Southeast Asia ever since.