The Canada Border Services Agency has announced the removal of three individuals from the country as part of its involvement in British Columbia’s newly established provincial extortion task force. In a recent statement, the agency revealed that it is currently looking into 78 foreign nationals who may be ineligible to stay in Canada and are potentially linked to the series of shootings and extortion incidents in the province.
Established earlier this year, the extortion task force comprises approximately 40 officers from various law enforcement agencies, including the CBSA, B.C. RCMP, and municipal police forces. The task force is actively investigating numerous extortion attempts and subsequent shootings, particularly targeting South Asian business owners, causing fear and distress in multiple communities across the province.
Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger praised the CBSA as a crucial part of the team, emphasizing that individuals engaging in violent extortion activities that threaten communities will face arrest and charges. Non-Canadian citizens involved in such criminal activities can also face deportation from the country.
Nina Patel, the regional director general for CBSA’s Pacific region, underscored the significant role their teams play in disrupting organized transnational criminal syndicates through their investigations. Several arrests and convictions have already been made in connection to these crimes, with some cases linked to the India-based Lawrence Bishnoi gang, recently designated as a terrorist group by the federal government.
