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A Surrey, B.C., father said his family is still in shock three weeks after members of the provincial anti-extortion task force conducted a daytime raid on his home while executing a search warrant related to a man living in his basement suite.
Sameer Arora said on October 24 that an entire tactical squad of about 25 people blocked his street with police ca.rs, while officers with guns in hand and police dogs in tow descended on his house without warning, knocking down the front door of the property and the basement door.
“They would have broken down the front door too if my children had not been home,” Arora said.
The subject of the search warrant, a man approximately 21 years old, was not home at the time. Arora said an officer told him the young man was a suspect in an investigation of extortion and firearms possession.
“The police said when they left that you and your family are safe,” Arora said.
“But the suspect returned to the property that same day and night. He sent me a message on the phone saying, ‘I am innocent, I am not involved in these activities’… He said it was a mistake on the part of the police.”
Surrey is ground zero for an ongoing extortion crisis that has gripped parts of British Columbia’s Lower Mainland for two years.
The Surrey Police Service says it has had 95 extortion incidents reported to it this year alone, as of Nov. 14, of which at least 43 have involved shootings. That’s up from 20 files in all of 2024.
7 people charged
On Thursday night, CBC News hosted a town hall in Surrey that brought together politicians, law enforcement and community members to discuss the issue. Arora attended with a large sign hoping to draw attention to her concerns as an indirect victim of violence.
According to task force officials, seven people have been arrested and charged with racketeering-related offenses in British Columbia, and more charges are pending.
Last week, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced its work within the task force, including the execution of search warrants. — had led to the removal of three people from Canada and had sparked immigration investigations into 78 foreign nationals “who may be inadmissible to the country.”
CBSA has declined to say why the three people were expelled and where they were expelled from or transferred to. He has also refused to name them. None of the three were charged with any criminal offense,according to BC RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Vanessa Munn.
As for the 78 people under investigation, RCMP Deputy Commissioner John Brewer told CBC News that an “exorbitant” number are foreign students.
The former director of the National Security Task Force at the University of Ottawa said, generally speaking, that expelling people from the country based on admissibility criteria is faster than a lengthy investigation to prove criminality.
“It could be because they had already stayed longer [their visa]right?” said Wade Deisman, a criminologist and associate dean of the faculty of social sciences at the University of the Fraser Valley.
“Or something had happened that gave sufficient probable cause to believe that they were inadmissible to Canada because they had some type of affiliation with the terrorist organization.”
Deisman said the problem with removal is that bad actors could see it as a free pass.
“I think we need to be very frank about that. If the goal is to deter through prosecution and punishment every time you just deport someone, you’ve said you can come here and do whatever you want with impunity and all we’re going to do is kick you out of the country if we can catch you.”
Last week, Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke requested 150 additional police officers in her city, amid a wave of extortion threats aimed at residents. While the request has received general support from both the province and the federal government, Wade Deisman, a criminologist at the University of the Fraser Valley, questions how realistic it is, given the lack of police personnel across the country. He also says the community has a role to play in helping solve extortion cases.
Arora said he doesn’t know if his former tenant faces deportation or charges.
At his request, and with the presence of two police officers, the tenant and his family moved out of the basement suite on November 2.
Although grateful for the police’s support, Arora said his family still fears possible retaliation.
“We don’t know if he is a criminal or just a suspect,” Arora said. “I was able to kick that person off my property, but we still live in fear. We don’t feel safe at all.”
CBC News contacted the RCMP to confirm the details of Arora’s story.
In an emailed statement, Munn wrote: “TMultiple search warrants have been executed in connection with ongoing investigations related to extortion. “That said, we are not in a position to provide any specific details due to the sensitive and ongoing nature of these investigations.”
“Generally speaking, for privacy reasons, police cannot share information about a person/suspect who has not been criminally charged,” he wrote.
