Victoria/Abbotsford – The Province, B.C. RCMP and municipal police agencies are launching a specialized task force to strengthen investigations into the extortion threats targeting families and businesses in the South Asian community.
The extortion task force will consist of 40 members drawn from various policing agencies, including the B.C. RCMP, Abbotsford Police Department, Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit – B.C. (CFSEU-BC), Delta Police Department, Metro Vancouver Transit Police, Surrey Police Service and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). The task force will receive support from the federal RCMP National Co-ordination and Support Team (NCST), which offers co-ordination and information sharing on extortion cases with law-enforcement agencies in affected provinces including B.C., Alberta and Ontario.
Colin Watson, chief constable, Abbotsford Police Department – “The Abbotsford Police Department recognizes that a unified response is essential in confronting the serious threat posed by these extortion events. We are deeply grateful for the collaborative efforts of our law-enforcement partners and the financial support of the province, which enable us to move forward together into this next phase of our response. This initiative enhances the responses to this point and reflects our shared commitment to community safety, and underscores the power of working collectively to protect and support those impacted.”
Led by the B.C. RCMP, the task force will stand apart from existing units due to its diverse membership and provincewide mandate, with its primary focus on co-ordination efforts in targeting organized-crime activity involved in extortion-related threats.
The Province is also making $200,000 available through the federal government’s Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund (GGVAF) to help municipal police departments investigate extortion cases. The funding will assist municipal police operations in their community-driven efforts to disrupt and investigate extortion-related matters. These investments are in addition to more than $100 million the Province commits annually to anti-gang enforcement and intelligence programs that target and disrupt organized crime, gang activity, illegal guns and the drug trade.
To sustain public-education efforts, the Province has provided an additional $100,000 from the GGVAF to continue the B.C. Crime Stoppers public-awareness campaign encouraging people to report extortion threats to help police identify and stop those responsible. This additional funding will support six more weeks of the campaign, helping individuals, families and business owners stay informed and safe.
