A Surrey business owner said he was threatened inside his own office by two armed suspects.
The owner, who Global News will not be naming for safety reasons, said he was ending his day on Friday, when two masked men armed with guns arrived at his business.
He said both of the men entered the store with one staying at the front of the store and the other headed into the back hallway.
The armed man at the front of the store rounded up the employees and gathered them together.
“The guy in the black hoodie and a black mask came to my office, he said, ‘Why are you not picking up my boss’ phone calls?’,” the owner told Global News.
“There was a call that came in half an hour ago. I didn’t pick it up, it was suspicious.”
The owner said the gunmen, who had an assault-style rifle, said his “boss” would be calling back again shortly, and that it was in the owner’s best interest to answer.
“They both had guns in their hands … They were pointing their guns at me.”
According to the business owner’s wife, they did get a call asking for thousands of dollars about a month ago. He reported it to the police, who allegedly told him to not worry about it.
A modulated, robotic voice asked for the money.
It is unconfirmed if this phone call is related to the incident on Friday, but the owner is suspicious they are linked.
The incident on Friday was captured on the store’s CCTV camera system. The gunmen were in and out of the business in around 50 seconds.
Before they left, they stole the owner’s cellphone.
The owner said he is concerned for his well-being, his families and his employees.
“We’re fully relying on the RCMP to take action. We took pictures of the (suspect’s) car, (the police) took all the video surveillance. I hope they are working on it,” he said.
Pictures show the suspect vehicle to be a grey Dodge Charger.
The business has been operating in the area for more than 15 years, and nothing like this has ever happened before, the owner said.
The owner said his family has no ties to organized crime and is bewildered why his place was targeted.
When Global News inquired with Surrey RCMP, police said it was a robbery with a firearm.
“Frontline officers attended the area and learned that two men had entered a business with what appeared to be firearms,” Surrey RCMP staff said in a release.
“The two men then spoke with one of the employees and stole a cell phone as they walked out. The two suspects were wearing masks and fled in a vehicle.”
Surrey investigators are looking to speak with anyone who may have information regarding the incident. Surrey RCMP can be contacted at 604-599-0502.
Back in January, Surrey RCMP held a public forum to address multiple cases of extortion and extortion-linked shootings in the area.
More than 700 community members attended the event.
Speaking to attendees, Officer in Charge of the Surrey RCMP Assistant Commissioner Brian Edwards pledged to stop the extortion problem.
He said police were further challenged by the fact that some people have paid the extortioners.
Police in Surrey and Abbotsford issued public warnings in November 2023 after business owners began to receive threatening letters.
Global News obtained a copy of one of the letters, which claimed to be from an “Indian gang” and demanded $2 million in “protection money” or the recipient would face retaliation.
On Dec. 28 2023, Surrey RCMP arrested two men in their 20s in connection with extortion attempts in the Lower Mainland. They were released without charge pending further investigation.
It is unclear if the latest incident on Friday is linked to these many cases of extortion in the area over the past year.
Global News has reached out to Surrey RCMP for more information.