Four suspects have been convicted in relation to a violent home invasion and kidnapping that took place in East Vancouver on March 11, 2023. Vancouver police say four victims were taken from their home in the 5200 block of St. Catherines Street sometime after 4 a.m., driven outside of the city and “held hostage for a period of time.” The victims – a mother, father and two daughters aged 21 and 18 – were restrained with zap straps, with duct tape over their mouths, before being taken from the scene in the family vehicles. The three women were taken in one vehicle and later abandoned on Rice Mill Road in Richmond, where they were eventually able to get help from staff at BC Ferries’ nearby maintenance yard. Meanwhile, the father was taken to his business on River Road in Richmond before being moved into a different vehicle and abandoned in a remote area in Surrey following multiple beatings and extortion attempts. In April 2024, following a year-long investigation, the Vancouver Police Department arrested three of four suspects and forwarded charges to the Crown, with charges later recommended against the fourth suspect. Two 21-year-old men – Duoth Techen Garkouth from Surrey and Ramadhan Ibrahim-Hussein from Richmond – entered guilty pleas to kidnapping and break-and-enter charges. An unnamed 17-year-old youth pleaded guilty to being unlawfully in a dwelling house and forcible confinement in 2024 and has since completed his sentence. The fourth suspect, 23-year-old Sijuola Obatusa, was found guilty of the same offences as Garkouth and Ibrahim-Hussein on April 2 after a trial in B.C. Supreme Court. Obatusa is also believed to have played a role in planning and directing the incident, acting as the tactical leader during the home invasion and kidnapping, according to police. “The judge’s decision validates the long hours that our investigators spent collecting evidence to hold these suspects accountable,” says VPD Const. Darren Wong, in a news release. “More importantly, it brings a sense of justice to the victims who were hurt.” The three men remain in custody and are scheduled to appear in court on May 6 to schedule a date for their sentencing hearing.
