296 investigations, 32 removal orders, 10 deportations in B.C. extortion response so far, CBSA says

Nearly 300 people are under immigration-related investigation in connection with the extortion crime wave.

Border officers have launched investigations into the “potential inadmissibility” of 296 people after referrals from B.C.’s extortion task force, according to the Canada Border Services Agency.

The total, which is current as of Feb. 4, is a sharp increase from the last published total, which was provided by the task force itself on Jan. 20. At that time, authorities said 111 foreign nationals had been referred to the CBSA in connection to extortion investigations.

The CBSA says it has issued 32 removal orders as a result of its investigations, and 10 people have already been removed from Canada.

“Another nine cases are currently pending an admissibility hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB), for the IRB member to decide whether to issue a removal order,” the CBSA said in a statement Tuesday.

The updated figures come after a significant spike in extortion-related shootings in B.C. in December and January.

South Asian communities in B.C.’s Lower Mainland and across Canada have been dealing with extortion threats for more than a year, with some businesses and personal residences shot up multiple times over that period.

The City of Surrey has been hit particularly hard by the violence, and Mayor Brenda Locke referenced the latest CBSA figures when speaking to reporters in Victoria after the provincial budget was released Tuesday.

“I can tell you the majority of what has to be done in Surrey is with the federal government,” Locke said, when asked to assess the provincial budget through a public safety lens.

“Dealing with immigration and just dealing with all of those issues is much more important to us right now.”

Many of the suspects in extortion-related shootings in Surrey and elsewhere are foreign nationals, primarily from India, though police have said there’s “a mix” of Canadian citizens and people from other countries involved.

“This is not one group or one individual,” said RCMP Asst. Comm. John Brewer during a testy news conference last month.

“These are multiple groups conducting these extortions, and we are dealing with them, and the task force takes those that have the most threat to public safety.”

Since that news conference—which saw Brewer attract criticism for saying extortions in Surrey were “not a crisis”—police have shared photos of some of the suspects arrested in extortion investigations.

After the January surge, the frequency of extortion-related shootings has declined in recent weeks, a “slowdown” Locke said she’s “very pleased to see.”

“I do know that the government—both the province and the federal government—are pretty active on this file,” Locke said.