Ongoing extortion attempts targeting South Asian businesses have prompted a series of ads on Punjabi-language radio stations in Metro Vancouver, with the goal of catching those responsible.
The ads are being launched by Crime Stoppers. They urge anyone with information about the threats to anonymously report them to the organization or reach out to police and make a report.
“We know people are concerned for their safety, and that’s why we want everyone to know that anyone with information about who’s behind the threats can ANONYMOUSLY give those details to us at Crime Stoppers if they prefer,” said Linda Annis, executive director of Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers, said in a statement.
“We’re airing these messages in English and Punjabi to encourage people to contact us with any information that can help police put an end to this. No one calling will ever be identified or have to go to court.”
Extortion threats have been made for months in the Lower Mainland and in other Canadian cities. In many cases, police say they are not reported.
Crime Stoppers says its ads are being launched to support the work of police departments in gathering the necessary information to identify those behind the written and telephone threats.
“An RCMP National Coordination and Support Team investigating the threats has issued a public appeal asking anyone contacted not to pay any demanded payments and report the threats to police,” Crime Stoppers said in an email Thursday.
In February, the RCMP established a national team to help coordinate investigations and information sharing about extortion schemes targeting South Asian businesses in B.C., Alberta, and Ontario.
Mounties said at the time that they were not taking over any investigations, but rather providing support to facilitate “seamless” information-sharing at a national level between forces including the Surrey RCMP, Peel Regional Police, and the Edmonton Police Service.
In B.C., some businesses reported receiving letters demanding they pay the sender in exchange for “protection from future violence.”
In one instance, the Abbotsford Police Department said the letters were generic and did not include any specifics about the businesses or the threats being made against them. They also do not indicate a method of payment, contact, or communication, police added.
-With files from The Canadian Press