City of Surrey calling on 150 more RCMP officers to tackle extortion crisis

Surrey’s mayor is calling on the federal and provincial governments to step up to tackle extortion threats plaguing the city.

The City of Surrey is calling on the federal and provincial governments to temporarily deploy 150 officers from the RCMP and B.C.’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit to tackle the ongoing shootings and extortions targeting local residents.

At a news conference Friday, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said her constituents “can’t sleep at night” due to the fear that they will be next.

“I can’t sleep at night,” she added. “We are getting far too many people that are having to deal with gunshots in their homes.”

Locke travelled to Victoria to meet with Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Nina Krieger on Thursday to discuss Surrey’s public safety crisis and urge immediate action.

“The minister of public safety is the top cop in British Columbia. It is her job to make sure this all happens for us,” she said.

In a statement to CTV News, Krieger noted the province has been asking the Canadian government for “additional federal policing resources to support our fight against organized crime” for almost two years.

The support B.C. is requesting includes additional RCMP officers and analysts for its extortion task force. The province is also calling for more federal funding for victim supports, including community outreach, as well as enhanced federal intelligence co-ordination, such as dedicated liaisons.

“While it’s encouraging to see early results from co-ordinated investigations with arrests and charges, this violence continues in our communities,” said Krieger.

Linda Annis, a Surrey city councillor and mayoral candidate, said it’s important for the federal government to step up as the issue is being felt across Canada.

“This is a national problem and we need to have that integrated approach to ensure that this gets dealt with quickly and that people will feel safe living in their homes and businesses,” she said.

Annis applauded the mayor’s request but said the people of Surrey need action now.

“We can’t be continuing to write letters back and forth. We need to deal with this issue and we need to deal with this issue now,” she added.

Ottawa’s response

In a statement, federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree’s office said he “shares concerns about the rise in extortion and organized criminal activity affecting communities in the Lower Mainland.”

“It is worth noting, however, that operational decisions on resource allocation for federal policing legislatively fall under the purview of the RCMP,” the statement added.

Anandasangaree’s office pointed to the government’s recent decision to list the Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code.

“Public Safety Canada continues active discussions with the province of British Columbia and the RCMP to strengthen operational collaboration,” it said.

Locke said 40 people have had bullets coming through their doors and walls, including various South Asian celebrities.

Just this week, CTV News learned Punjabi singer Chani Nattan’s home was shot at, with the Bishnoi gang claiming responsibility on social media.

That attack came just 12 days after Bollywood comedian Kapil Sharma’s Kap’s Café was targeted for the third time in an overnight shooting.

The first occurred on July 10 and the third on Oct. 16. Staff were inside at the time of each shooting, but were not injured.

Videos of the shootings were widely circulated on social media, similar to the attack on Nattan’s home.

“This is extortion against Canadians,” said Locke.

“I think too often we use the language South Asians. It is Canadians that are being extorted. The people that may be doing the crime are not Canadians. I would venture to guess they are not.”

Locke said she hopes the federal government will step up, to bring back a sense of safety.

“(Families are) sending their kids out of not only out of Surrey, out of the province, out of fear. I’m hearing that every day,” she said.