3 suspected of Surrey extortion-related shootings arrested, charged

Police arrested three men Friday after a shooting, believed to be related to an extortion investigation, in Surrey earlier this year.

On March 27, the Surrey Police Service (SPS) responded to reports of shots fired at a home on 89A Avenue near 132 Street. Police say the home was damaged by several gunshots, but no one was injured.

“It was determined that the incident was related to an ongoing extortion investigation and three suspects were identified, leading to the execution of numerous search warrants,” police explained Monday.

Three men, 20, 23, and 26 years old, were arrested on Oct. 3. The BC Prosecution Service charged them with one count each of recklessly discharging a firearm.

The charges mark the first in Surrey related to extortion crimes affecting the South Asian community since February of 2024.

Chief Const. Norm Lipinski says it marks a “positive step forward” in the SPS’s effort, since it launched a special investigative team in June.

As of Monday, the SPS said it was investigating 56 reports of the crime. Thirty-one shots-fired calls related to extortion. The threats target both businesses and people.

In the past week, at least two businesses have been the targets of gunfire, including a Surrey radio station on Oct. 1, and a restaurant on King George Boulevard in the early hours of Monday morning.

Last month, Surrey’s mayor announced the city had set aside a $250,000 reward fund for information leading to convictions in extortion cases.

Meanwhile, the provincial government announced it would invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a dedicated task to fight extortion crimes in B.C.

If you have information to share about extortion crimes in the area, you can call the Surrey Extortion Tip Line at 236-485-5149.

–With files from Sonia Aslam