Provincial extortion task force now leading investigation after bullets hit Swift 1200 AM’s front entrance.
Police are investigating after shots were fired at a Surrey, B.C., radio station on Monday night — a shooting officers say is tied to a wave of extortion attempts targeting South Asian communities across Canada.
Swift 1200 AM says the main entrance to its building on the 13000-block of 76 Avenue was hit by bullets around 9 p.m. on Monday.
Surrey Police confirmed the damage to the exterior door was caused by gunshots but no injuries were reported. The case has been handed over to the provincial extortion task force, which was created on Sept. 17 to investigate a surge of violence tied to extortion.
Surrey’s mayor had announced just days before the launch of the task force that the city has set aside a $250,000 reward fund for information leading to convictions in the investigation of local extortion cases.
Police in the city said at the time that they are looking into 44 such cases, including 27 involving shootings.
Last week, police in Abbotsford, B.C., announced its own extortion task force, saying the city received 38 reports of similar cases dating back to November 2023.
Anyone with more information on the shooting at the radio station, or was in the area between 8 p.m. on Monday and 6 a.m. on Tuesday, is asked to call the extortion tip line at 236-485-5149, or anonymously leave a report through Crime Stopper.
Source: cbc.ca/news/canada/british
