Extortion task force called in after shots fired at business in Delta, police say

The Extortion Task Force has been called to Delta after shots were fired at a local business overnight.

Police in Delta are investigating an extortion-related shooting that happened shortly after 3:30 a.m. Friday.

Around that time, officers were called to Tilbury Industrial Park for a report that shots had been fired into a business in the 7500 block of Vantage Place, the Delta Police Department said in a news release.

When they arrived, police found bullet casings and confirmed that several shots had been fired into the business, which was not occupied at the time.

“CCTV depicted the occupants of a white sedan firing multiple shots into the business before fleeing the scene,” the release reads, adding that members of the DPD Extortion Task Force were on duty at the time and have taken conduct of the investigation.

Delta investigators will be working with the provincial extortion task force to determine if there are any links to ongoing investigations, police said.

Anyone with information or video from the area and time of Friday’s shooting is asked to call the DPD at 604-946-4444 or email [e-mail].

Extortion-related shootings at homes and businesses in B.C.’s Lower Mainland have grown less common in recent weeks, after surging to a crisis level at the start of the year.

The extortion attempts have primarily targeted members of the South Asian community, and many of the identified suspects have been foreign nationals.

As of mid-February, the Canada Border Services Agency had launched nearly 300 investigations after receiving referrals from the provincial task force. At the time, 32 removal orders had been issued and 10 people had been deported, according to the agency.