The Canada Border Services Agency has announced the removal of three individuals from the country as part of their collaboration with B.C.’s newly established provincial extortion task force. In a recent statement, the agency revealed that they are currently probing 78 foreign nationals who may be ineligible to stay in the country due to their suspected involvement in a series of shootings and extortion incidents within the province.
The extortion task force, established earlier this year, comprises approximately 40 officers from the Canada Border Services Agency, B.C. RCMP, municipal police forces, and other law enforcement agencies. The task force is actively investigating numerous extortion cases and subsequent shooting incidents, primarily targeting South Asian business owners, causing fear and distress in various communities across the province.
B.C. Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger commended the Canada Border Services Agency as a crucial partner in combating violent extortion that threatens community safety. She emphasized that perpetrators of such crimes will face arrest and charges, with non-Canadian citizens facing potential deportation from the country.
Nina Patel, the regional director general for CBSA’s Pacific region, underlined the significant role played by their teams in disrupting organized transnational criminal networks through their investigative efforts. Several arrests and convictions have already been made in connection to these crimes, with some cases linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang based in India, which was recently designated as a terrorist group by the federal government.
