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B.C. Launches RCMP-Led 40-Member Task Force to Combat Extortion Targeting South Asian Community

Surrey reports 45 extortion files with 27 shootings, prompting fresh funding, rewards, outreach.

The windows of Kap’s Cafe in Surrey, B.C., riddled with bullet holes on Aug. 7. The business is owned by Indian celebrity Kapil Sharma. The province is forming a new police unit to investigate extortion targeting South Asian businesspeople.
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Kap’s Cafe in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada which was fired at by unknown persons in July and August this year. (Credit: Sameer Kaushal/NewsDerby)
An RCMP epaulette is seen in Edmonton, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Overview

  • The new team is led by the B.C. RCMP and draws members from RCMP detachments, CFSEU-BC, Surrey, Abbotsford, Delta and Metro Vancouver Transit Police, plus the Canada Border Services Agency.
  • Officials are directing $300,000 from the federal Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund, including $200,000 for police investigations and $100,000 to extend Crime Stoppers’ awareness campaign.
  • Surrey has established a $250,000 reward fund for information that helps secure charges and convictions in extortion cases.
  • RCMP leaders say arrests have been made and some files are before Crown counsel for charge approval, while Surrey police report no arrests in the city’s recent surge of cases.
  • Police highlight community reluctance to report and have expanded tools including a dedicated extortion tip line staffed by Punjabi-speaking officers, with investigators also probing links reported in some cases to the India-based Lawrence Bishnoi gang.