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B.C.’s public safety minister says that while police in the province have reported declining extortion cases in recent months, combating the crisis remains the government’s top public safety priority.
Nina Krieger gave the opening remarks at a roundtable discussion on extortion involving several police officials, saying they, along with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), have made good progress in holding extortionists to account.
RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald says there has been an overall decrease in extortion-related activities in the province, attributing the progress to the work of the B.C. Extortion Task Force, its partners and others.
He told the online discussion that authorities have seen significant success in terms of laying charges and removing extortion suspects, along with an increase in co-operation by victims of extortion and the broader community.
Fear and frustration are building over a perceived lack of progress in the extortion file among the South Asian community in Surrey, B.C. Despite a dedicated task force and beefed up policing announced last year, extortion cases have not slowed down and many are worried they might be increasing. There have been at least 34 cases of extortion in Surrey in January so far.
While much of the work being done isn’t public-facing, he says there is a juggernaut of police resources tackling extortion, and the provincial task force is currently pursuing 36 investigative files with more coming as it focuses on “higher-tier” suspects.
Still, McDonald says extortion suspects are mobile, moving between provinces, and a sustained effort, co-ordinated across law enforcement agencies in Canada and internationally, would be necessary to keep up the progress.
The discussion was moderated by Paul Dadwal, chair of B.C.’s community advisory group on extortion.
Dadwal said they’ve held dozens of meetings in the last several months with victims’ families, police, the South Asian Business Association of B.C., the CBSA and Fintrac, Canada’s financial intelligence agency, among others.
“To the community, to victims, your pain is real,” Dadwal said.
“We understand you’re hurting. We know some of you have relocated. We know some of your lives have been affected and kids have been affected.”
But Dadwal said the work of police and others is making a difference.
Police in Surrey released data earlier this month showing there have been 98 reported extortions in the Metro Vancouver city as of May 11, with 16 involving gunfire.
Earlier this month, the force said there were 44 reported extortion threats in January, with 17 in February, 14 in March and 20 in April.
The B.C. government says former RCMP officer Paul Dadwal will head a new extortion community advisory group to help build trust between police and residents. Rasinder Kaur, an anti-extortion advocate and organizer in Surrey, spoke with BC Today host Michelle Eliot about whether Dadwal’s new role will help.
Nina Patel, a regional director for CBSA, said the agency has opened 446 immigration investigations into foreign nationals suspected of being involved in or linked to extortion across the country as of May 7.
The agency has issued 118 removal orders and enforced 55 of them.
In the Pacific region, Patel said there have been 132 investigations and the agency has issued 52 removal orders, leading to the removal of 33 people.
Those under investigation may be deemed inadmissible for reasons ranging from non-compliance with immigration conditions to “serious criminality,” Patel said.
As extortion-related crimes decline in Surrey, community leaders are sounding the alarm on a different risk: protecting international students from exploitation. UBC student and member of Surrey’s Liveability, Social Equity and Public Safety Committee, Mohkam Singh Mallik warns international students may now be targets for recruitment into extortion-related crimes because professional criminals can’t enter the country.
Delta Police Chief Harj Sidhu told Tuesday’s discussion that organized criminals have been using immigration pathways as they try to establish themselves in Canada.
Criminals, he said, are also exploiting newcomers who might be feeling isolated or have financial pressures.
“They’re being recruited, very much like we have local vulnerable youth being recruited by organized crime here in our province and across this country,” Sidhu said.
Meanwhile, Norm Lipinski, chief constable of the Surrey Police Service, outlined some of the tactics police are using to combat extortion in the city, including installing covert cameras and deploying officers to high-risk locations around the clock.
