Based on coverage from CBC, The Peterborough Examiner, Vernon Morning Star, CHAT News Today, and Peace Arch News.
B.C. officials say extortion reports are trending down, but they are still treating it like an urgent, province-wide public safety problem, especially in and around Surrey.
That message came out of a virtual roundtable held Tuesday (May 12) featuring B.C. Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger, senior police leaders and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), moderated by Paul Dadwal, chair of B.C.’s Community Advisory Group on extortion.
British Columbia extortion cases trending down
RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald, who heads the B.C. Extortion Task Force, said police have seen an overall decrease in extortion-related activity in recent months. He credited co-ordinated work between police agencies and partners, including CBSA.
McDonald said authorities are having “significant success” laying charges, removing suspects, and seeing some suspects leave the province voluntarily. He also pointed to increased co-operation from victims and the wider community.
He cautioned, though, that the work has to be sustained. Extortion suspects are mobile and can move between provinces, and organized crime groups can operate across borders. McDonald said a prolonged effort, co-ordinated across municipal, provincial, and federal police, and potentially internationally, is needed to keep the momentum.
Surrey extortion numbers and gunfire incidents
Even with signs of improvement, Surrey’s figures show why the issue still has people on edge.
Surrey police released data earlier this month showing 98 reported extortions in the city as of May 11, with 16 involving gunfire. Monthly counts shared at the roundtable put reported extortion threats at 44 in January, 17 in February, 14 in March, and 20 in April.
Chief Const. Norm Lipinski of the Surrey Police Service said officers can often tell at a shooting scene whether it might be extortion-related by checking whether a home or business has prior extortion threats recorded in police databases. He said Surrey Police aims to share whether a shooting is believed to be extortion-related quickly, pushing information internally and then issuing a press release within 12 hours, often sooner.
Lipinski also outlined tactics being used in Surrey, including covert cameras and deploying officers to high-risk locations around the clock. He described uniformed and plain-clothed patrols checking homes and businesses repeatedly overnight, and sometimes staying parked out front to reassure residents and deter attacks.
CBSA immigration investigations and removals
The CBSA highlighted how immigration enforcement is being used as another lever against people suspected of links to extortion.
Nina Patel, a CBSA regional director, said that as of May 7 the agency had opened 446 immigration investigations into foreign nationals suspected of being involved in or linked to extortion across Canada. CBSA has issued 118 removal orders and enforced 55 of them.
In the Pacific region, Patel said there have been 132 investigations, 52 removal orders issued, and 33 removals carried out. She said people under investigation could be found inadmissible for reasons ranging from not complying with immigration conditions to “serious criminality.”
Organized crime recruiting newcomers in Canada
Delta Police Chief Harj Sidhu used blunt language about what police believe they’re seeing: organized criminals using immigration pathways as they try to establish themselves in Canada, while also exploiting newcomers who may feel isolated or under financial pressure.
Sidhu compared that recruitment to the way organized crime targets vulnerable youth locally, describing it as a similar pipeline of exploitation playing out in different communities.
Community advice: don’t pay extortionists
A big theme from the roundtable was pushing victims to come forward and work with police.
Abbotsford Police Chief Colin Watson urged people not to pay extortionists, arguing profitability is a key reason the crime keeps spreading. He warned that paying once often doesn’t end the threats, it can invite the next demand and encourage criminals to target others.
Dadwal said his advisory group has held more than 60 briefings in three months with police, CBSA, FINTRAC, business groups and victims’ families. He also acknowledged the human cost: families relocating, lives disrupted, and kids affected.
Police agencies across the country are also expected to keep co-ordinating, with a meeting planned in Edmonton on Friday (May 15) as the national response continues.
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