Forensic specialist test-fires a seized handgun into a ballistic tank at the expanded Provincial Forensic Firearms Lab. (flickr.com)

Media Contacts

Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General

Media Relations
250-882-9054

Backgrounders

Province taking action to combat extortion

The Province is working with all levels of government and law enforcement on prevention and intervention measures to combat extortion. These include:

  • Standing up the B.C. Extortion Task Force, an integrated, multi-jurisdictional unit led by the B.C. RCMP and supported by the Surrey Police Service, Delta Police, Abbotsford Police, Metro Vancouver Transit Police, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and other municipal police departments.
    • The B.C. RCMP has committed additional resources to the task force, including emergency response teams and police dog services throughout the province, Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia and B.C. Highway Patrol.  
    • The task force is the first co-ordinated extortion model in Canada and one of the largest units in B.C. history.
  • The task force has obtained almost 100 judicial authorizations (permissions from the court) and executed multiple search warrants across the Lower Mainland, in the B.C. Interior and in Alberta. Investigators have made arrests, conducted searches incidental to those arrests and obtained statements to lawfully secure perishable evidence.
  • Charges have been approved against 11 people for extortion related activity; seven as a result of RCMP extortion-related investigations and four as a result of extortion-related investigations by municipal police.
  • As part of more than 111 task-force-related investigations being undertaken by the CBSA, nine individuals have been removed from Canada.
  • In November 2025, B.C.’s Premier David Eby, joined by Nina Krieger, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Niki Sharma, Attorney General, and Gary Anandasangaree, federal Public Safety Minister, Sean Fraser, federal Minister of Justice and Attorney General, along with local leaders, met in Surrey for a tri-lateral extortion summit, to strengthen co-ordination and accelerate their joint response to extortion.  
  • This meeting resulted in the joint investment of $1 million to support victims of these extortion crimes:  
    • adding additional victim service and community outreach workers to assist the B.C. Extortion Task Force. 
    • creating an extortion webpage, offering safety planning tools and other information and resources. 
  • The meeting also resulted an announcement about the Province and Government of Canada’s plans to create a regional integrated drug enforcement team (RIDET) to fight organized crime through a $4-million federal investment.  
    • Providing $200,000 through the federal Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund to help local police tackle extortion cases that fall outside the task force’s main investigations.
    • Launching a Crime Stoppers public-awareness campaign so that people can safely share information and help police prevent violence before it happens.
      • Since launching on June 26, 2025, the campaign has seen strong community engagement, with more than 7.9 million views of its content.
    • Successfully pressing the federal government to have the Bishnoi gang listed as a terrorist entity, giving police and prosecutors stronger tools to freeze assets and disrupt financing.