Three men have pleaded guilty in what police say are among British Columbia’s first extortion-related convictions.
The charges against them relate to a shooting and fire outside a home in Surrey’s Crescent Beach neighbourhood on Feb. 1.
The trio, all Indian nationals, were arrested in a rideshare vehicle as they attempted to flee the scene.
Taranveer Singh pleaded guilty to reckless discharge of a firearm and was sentenced to five years in prison, Surrey police said on Wednesday.
After credit for time served, he’ll serve nearly 4.5 more years behind bars.
Dayajeet Billing and Harjot Singh both pleaded guilty to throwing an explosive substance, and were sentenced to just over two years each in prison.
After credit for time served, Billings will spend another 20 months behind bars, while Harjot Singh will serve 18 more months, followed by two years of probation each.
“This has been a very quick turnaround, so guilty pleas are a good thing,” Surrey Police Service Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said.
“It provides closure in the immediacy and the sentences should hopefully send a message.”
Harjot Singh, left, Taranveer Singh and Dayajeet Billing have been sentenced in relation to what police say they believe was an extortion-related attack in Surrey on Feb. 1. (Surrey Police Service)
Houghton said all three will serve their sentences in Canada, and that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will decide what happens to them afterward.
In a statement, the CBSA said it is legally obligated to remove foreign nationals found to be inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, with a priority on cases involving criminality and organized crime.
“Criminal matters take precedence over immigration matters, meaning that any foreign nationals convicted of crimes in Canada cannot be removed until they have served their sentence,” the statement reads.
“However, the CBSA takes steps to ensure their removal order can be enforced as soon as possible afterward, once all legal avenues of recourse that can stay a removal have been exhausted.”
He added that while none of the men were charged with extortion, police believe the attack was extortion related.
He said the men were arrested with the help of a program called Project Assurance that has police “proactively patrol” residential and business areas targeted by extortion.
“I think these are the first convictions and sentencing in any of our [extortion] files,” Houghton said.
“And in fact, they may actually be some of the first in British Columbia. So hopefully that’s the start of a trend where we see more guilty pleas and more sentences.”
As of June 8, Surrey police had recorded 122 reported extortions, 19 related shots-fired calls and two arsons.
Houghton said police responded to 10 shootings in January alone, but that the number of incidents have dropped significantly in recent months.