The head of an RCMP team established to help local police crack down on a string of extortion attempts across the country says investigators are making progress in B.C., but need more people to come forward.
It comes as investigators in B.C. face mounting pressure as police in other Canadian jurisdictions announce arrests and charges.
“I’d like to say quite significant amounts of things have been accomplished, our team is very busy,” said Supt. Adam MacIntosh, Officer in Charge of the RCMP National Coordination and Support Team (NCST) formed to support police dealing with extortion threats across the country.
“It’s very difficult to sort of share the ins and outs of what’s going on, but the communication and the collaboration that is occurring between all these police jurisdictions and the U.S. and internationally is significant and something I’m personally very proud of.”
Last week, police working on similar cases in Edmonton announced 65 charges against six suspects in what has been dubbed “Project Gaslight.”
Peel Regional Police, meanwhile, have laid 58 charges against 11 suspects in recent months.
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Police arrested two men in B.C. in December over alleged threats to business owners, but prosecutors have yet to approve charges.
Late last month, emotions boiled over at a packed town hall in Surrey, with attendees expressing frustration at an apparent lack of progress in the investigations.
MacIntosh said comparing investigations across jurisdictions is difficult because the extortion threats in different provinces are “really localized.”
Police in B.C. are currently looking into “under 30” extortion attempts, he said.
“But we’re also dealing with what are referred to as copycat-type investigations, where individuals see this might be an opportunity, they’re not a part of that organized crime group and are trying to just basically piggyback on an opportunity and so we’re trying to distinguish one from the other,” he said.
“That being said, we know there’s likely unreported events.”
MacIntosh said police understand that the victims of such extortion attempts feel genuine fear for their own and their family’s safety.
But he said for investigators to break up the crime groups responsible for the threats, they need the community to overcome those fears and work with police.
He praised the organizers of the recent Surrey forum for speaking out and said investigators need to see more people coming forward.
“Take a moment and think about what’s occurring. Contact your local police of jurisdiction, share the information that’s going on and whatever you do, do not pay,” he said.
“If people don’t pay, and people, although they are afraid, stand up in front of their fear and collaborate together, there’s not going to be a method for those organized crime groups to receive money, they’ll stop those extortions.”
MacIntosh said information from victims could be critical in helping police connect cases together and to identify suspects.
He added that police can help anyone who comes forward to develop a safety plan to help allay fears of retribution.