BURST
Surrey police say the release of images of extortion suspects could be contributing to a decline in cases in recent weeks.
In January, B.C.’s second-most-populous city had 10 extortion-related shootings. In February, there was only one.
Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton suggested Tuesday that the tactic of naming and releasing photographs of suspects could be deterring perpetrators.
“We released the photos of the first two individuals from that car with the firearm , and within days, we were receiving tips on those two individuals,” said Houghton, referring to two foreign nationals who were arrested by police after officers patrolling heard gunshots in late January. “So we’ve seen direct investigative success related to that, and it’s sort of validated our investigative reasons for releasing those photos, and that supported our decision to release the photos of the three people subsequent in that other incident down off Crescent Road , so we’ll continue to do that.”
Another three foreign nationals were arrested Feb. 1 after a shots-fired incident and a small fire were reported to police. They’re now facing extortion charges.
Extortion threats and related shootings have been plaguing the city’s Punjabi Canadian business community for years. But what started as a handful of cases in 2023, increased in 2024 and skyrocketed the following year.
The city has recorded 60 extortion threats so far this year. Eleven of those have included shootings and two of them have involved arson, a more recent trend in the extortion cases.
A total of 34 individuals have been directly threatened, while 21 of them are repeat victims.
Police have released photos of six extortion suspects so far in 2026. Regionally, Houghton said the release of names and photos of suspects has worked to deter criminals in other jurisdictions and that trend may also be present in Surrey.
In a video uploaded to social media last week, Surrey Police Chief Norm Lipinski said he was encouraged by the recent drop in cases.
“It is encouraging to see this decline, but it is critical we keep our foot on the gas to quash this violence in our community,” said Lipinski, who wasn’t made available for an interview.
Lipinski also encouraged local businesses and residents to register their security cameras with the police to help officers with investigations.
While members of the public have been contacting police more with reports or tips, the police say it’s still not enough.
“We haven’t received many tips at all from the public, whether it’s to the reward line that was created last year, or Crime Stoppers, or even just people phoning 911,” Houghton said. “Quite frankly, there haven’t been many tips at all that have led to the identification of suspects or arrests.”
The lack of tips from the public has been very frustrating, he added.
“We’ve heard from the community that people know who are behind these incidents. We want to believe that if people out there know who are not only doing the extortions, but also the shootings — that’s a significant public safety risk for our community,” Houghton said. “We’ve seen innocent people being unfortunately injured, thankfully not killed, as a result of this, and we need people to come forward with information before the worst-case scenario happens.”
The City of Surrey provided a reward fund of $250,000 to the police last year to encourage the public to come forward with information. Portions of the money would be awarded to individuals who provide police crucial info that leads investigators to making arrests and charges being laid.
“None of that money has been paid out,” Houghton confirmed Tuesday.
Since last year, police have made 10 arrests of extortion suspects and some of them have been charged. Five of those arrests happened this year.
In 2025, there were 133 reported extortion threats, with 49 of them involving shootings, and 88 total victims with 37 of those threatened more than once.
Surrey police and the B.C. extortion task force share the number of cases, but according to Houghton, SPS still investigates most of the total cases.
“Of the 133 in Surrey last year, the extortion task force had 24 of those and this year of the 60, we are aware of three, so SPS has the overwhelming majority,” he said.
Houghton explained that the cases in the task force’s caseload are typically ones that have connections outside of Surrey.
In the meantime, patrols continue to be concentrated in neighbourhoods previously targeted with extortion-related violence, including shootings, Houghton said.