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CBC
2 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Surrey, B.C., man calls for urgent action on extortion threats after businesses shot at 3 times
Social Sharing A Surrey, B.C., business owner is calling for urgent action from all levels of government over a growing trend of extortion and violence against members of the South Asian community in Canada, including himself. Satish Kumar, the president of the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir Temple and owner of Reflections Banquet Hall, says his banquet facility and another business he's connected to, Hub Insurance, have been targeted by gunfire three times in recent weeks. The most recent shooting happened early Saturday morning outside a strip mall near 128th Street and 80th Avenue, where Hub Insurance is located. Police say they were notified of the incident around 2:30 p.m. that day and are working to determine whether it's an isolated event or connected to other cases under investigation. Kumar believes the violence stems from threats he says he received on May 28 through video voicemails from numbers listed as being from Italy and New Zealand demanding $2 million. He says he reported the calls to police, but little progress has been made. "What should I do?" Kumar asked during a public safety forum he organized on Sunday. "We have to put more security everywhere to protect our businesses. They've already done a lot of damage." WATCH | Kumar holds public safety forum on growing issue: Surrey businessman hosts safety forum amid rising extortion threats 10 hours ago Duration 2:40 A Surrey business owner who says he's been the target of extortion-related shootings hosted a public safety forum this weekend. Representatives from all levels of government attended to hear concerns from the public. As Sohrab Sandhu reports, the town hall comes after a surge in reported extortion threats targeting the South Asian community. The event brought together business owners, police and elected officials to discuss the ongoing rise in threats and violence against the South Asian community in Surrey, and several other parts of Canada. It comes less than a week after an Abbotsford man was shot and killed at his office in Surrey. Police say the motive is still under investigation but the incident does not appear to be linked to any ongoing investigations. No arrests have been made. Surrey police launch dedicated extortion threat team The Surrey Police Service says there have been 10 extortion reports in the city over the past six months. Chief Const. Norm Lipinski says the department has launched its own dedicated extortion investigations team to focus on cases in the Newton and Whalley areas while also increasing patrols in a number of business areas in the city. "These are complex investigations," said Lipinski. "Some stretch across Canada and some of these go beyond the borders." Lipinski says officers are encouraging people to report extortion. "We know that some of these extortions are under-reported ... I understand there's fear but you can also report it anonymously." 'A crime' to do well in business Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke, who attended Sunday's event, said the city is grappling with an alarming rise in violent incidents. "It's breaking my heart," she said. "I don't like what I'm hearing and what I'm seeing." She said her office is receiving calls daily from residents and business owners affected by the recent threats. "What you see is the tip of the iceberg," Locke said. Some residents, she said, are too scared to speak out and others have relocated their families out of the province altogether. "It has become a crime in Surrey to do well in your business and the target is on those people that have done very well." Locke is urging the provincial and federal governments to take immediate action. WATCH | Surrey police investigating after businesses targeted in shootings: Surrey police investigating possible extortion attempt after shootings targeted at businesses 5 days ago Duration 2:09 Police in Surrey say they are investigating whether two shootings targeting businesses in the city are linked to possible extortion attempts. As Sohrab Sandhu reports, it comes just months after several incidents across the country, which led to the formation of a national RCMP task force. "This is a provincial issue, this is a federal issue," she added. "This means that the minister must, must go to Ottawa and tell them they have to focus on this." Garry Begg, the minister of public safety and solicitor general for British Columbia, says law enforcement agencies are actively responding to the rise in extortion cases and working closely with national partners. "We've hired 250 RCMP officers across the province," he said. "Fighting crime is the responsibility of the community with the help of the police, and that's what we're doing." He acknowledged the broader scope of the threat, describing the extortion incidents as "transnational crimes" that are also being reported in other parts of the country. WATCH | South Asian businesses targeted across Canada, police say: Extortion ring targets South Asian businesses across Canada, police say 1 year ago Duration 2:06 There are growing concerns about reports of South Asian businesses being targeted with violence and extortion across the country. Police and political officials in Ontario, Alberta and B.C., say they're investigating similar acts, while Edmonton police say incidents in their city have been orchestrated by a criminal network in India. The ongoing spate of extortion attempts targeting South Asian business owners led the RCMP to form a national task force last year to deal with the issue, which police have also reported in Alberta and the Greater Toronto Area. According to Surrey police, it's a similar story across Canada: Individuals or businesses from the South Asian community are contacted through a letter, phone call or social media and told to hand over large sums of money under the threat of violence. Kumar says he's doing what he can to raise awareness on the issue but wants to see results. "I don't know what the outcomes are gonna be, but I want to make people aware."
CBC
6 days ago
- CBC
Surrey, B.C., businessman says shootings connected to ongoing extortion
Social Sharing A Surrey, B.C., man says two recent shootings at his businesses are connected to ongoing extortion attempts targeting the South Asian community. Satish Kumar, the president of the city's Lakshmi Narayan Mandir temple, said he received video voicemails on May 28 from numbers listed as being from Italy and New Zealand that demanded $2 million. He said he refused to pay and reported it to police at the time, but officials took no action. In the early hours of June 7, shots were fired at the banquet hall he owns, he said. Shots were fired, he said, at another business he's connected to, Hub Insurance, on Tuesday. No one was injured in the shootings at the businesses. He said he's holding a public forum on Sunday, and announcing a $100,000 reward to encourage the community to help bring an end to the extortion and violence. "I'm requesting the community [to] come forward," he said. "Don't be scared of these guys, right? They don't want to kill you. They want only money from you guys." Kumar said that if community members come together, they can help find the shooters who live in Metro Vancouver as well as the extortionists. Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton, a spokesperson for the Surrey Police Service, said investigators hadn't yet connected the shootings to extortion. "I would urge caution .... police can't jump to conclusions and immediately go from A to Z and make a connection," he told CBC News. "The evidence has to guide us in every case that we investigate." An ongoing spate of extortion attempts targeting South Asian business owners led the RCMP to form a national task force to deal with the issue, which has also been reported in Alberta and the Greater Toronto Area. Kumar said his son's Surrey home was the target of a December 2023 shooting, and he's received no updates from police on the case. Houghton said it was far too early for police to connect that shooting and the two that occurred over the last week. "We can't immediately connect an incident that happened over the weekend with something that happened two years ago," he said. Kumar said he's received support from local leaders, like Surrey Newton MP Sukh Dhaliwal and Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke, and he's asking police to attend his forum on Sunday to provide answers on how business owners are being protected. Attorney general encourages reporting Steve Kooner, a B.C. Conservative MLA and Opposition critic for the attorney general's office, said the members of the South Asian community are fearful for their lives amid the spate of extortion attempts. He said the province has failed to respond after MLAs attended another community forum on the issue last year, and a lack of trust in authorities is holding people back from going public with their fears. "There needs to be an open line of communication, and that's done through trust-building, and the government could take an active role in that," he said. WATCH | Forum held over extortion attempts: Forum held over extortion concerns in Metro Vancouver 11 months ago Duration 2:46 Two owners of transport companies in B.C. are speaking out about rising safety concerns after they say they were targeted for extortion. On Saturday, a public forum was held in Surrey to highlight the alarming situation, which has had some in the community on edge for more than a year. As Sohrab Sandhu reports, the trucking industry says laws need to be changed to provide better protection against extortion. Kooner further called on the province to set up a multilingual anonymous hotline to encourage community members to report any extortion attempts. In response, B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma told CBC News that residents can already call local police and stay anonymous, and she wants to encourage people to use low-barrier ways to report extortion attempts. Sharma said authorities need as many people as possible to come forward, and while she understood public frustration over the lack of updates on cases, there are teams of people working on the issue. "I'm a part of the South Asian community in B.C., and their issues are taken just as seriously," she said. "And I know this is a complicated matter, given the cross-jurisdictional nature and the way it's showing up, but we have the resources in place and we need to keep at it."
