FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, MARCH 12, 2026, SURREY B.C. — Extortion threats, arsons, and shootings continue to terrorize Surrey families and businesses. Multiple suspects remain at large across Canada. Today, Imagine Surrey and mayoral candidate Mike Starchuk released a comprehensive law-and-order plan for faster, smarter, and more sustained action to protect and seek justice for victims, dismantle transnational extortion networks and seize their assets, while ensuring this type of violence has no place in our communities.
Three recent developments have unlocked powerful new tools: BC’s specialized provincial extortion task force, Ottawa’s terrorist-entity designation of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, and a new federal commitment to a national FINTRAC strategy. Together, these enable asset freezes, material-support prosecutions, and coordinated cross-border enforcement. These are some of the tools needed to break the cycle of WhatsApp-organized violence. Imagine Surrey is demanding they be deployed immediately and at scale.
Imagine Surrey’s Partnership Plan to Crush Extortion:
1. Weekly Public Emergency Briefings. Mayor Locke must stop under-reacting. Under Imagine Surrey, the City of Surrey will hold weekly public briefings providing residents with timely facts, safety guidance, and accountability metrics.
2. Dedicated SPS Helicopter Patrols and Strategic CCTV Expansion. Under Imagine Surrey, the Surrey Police Service will deploy helicopter patrols and implement retail-focused CCTV coverage (pursuant with existing BC Privacy Act provisions), with tactical, data-driven use of traffic cameras to deter, monitor, and apprehend extortion networks in real time.
3. Fully Resourced Extortion Task Force. The federal government must commit to a specific, expert-verified number of additional RCMP and SPS officers for the Surrey/BC Extortion Task Force. Vague commitments of “up to 22 officers” are insufficient — Surrey deserves a firm number, a timeline, and accountability. Surrey also needs specialized intelligence officers that can coordinate with RCMP and CSIS as part of this commitment.
4. Shield & Signal — Victim-First Reporting and Rapid Protection Program. Imagine Surrey will launch a multilingual, evidence-preserving digital portal; fund a portion, with the province, of $3,000–$5,000 security micro-grants to vulnerable businesses and residents; establish a 48-hour protection standard; deploy real-time analytics to pre-empt extortion sprees; and deliver full, sustained municipal support to the Extortion Community Advisory Group.
5. Transnational Extortion Disruption Program (TEDP). An integrated FINTRAC–RCMP–CBSA enforcement cell will be established on the ground in Surrey to map money flows, fast-track production orders, and freeze criminal assets within hours — not weeks. This directly builds on the federal government’s recent FINTRAC program commitment and must be operationalized immediately.
6. Extortion-Focused Prosecution Track and Intelligence Court. Imagine Surrey will help pilot and service a dedicated docket and specialized Crown prosecution team to move complex, multi-accused extortion files faster — combining criminal-organization and terrorist-entity legal tools to ensure the full force of the law lands swiftly.
“Extortion is a financial crime with violence attached. Reinforce a FINTRAC–RCMP–CBSA cell on the ground in Surrey, map the money, and freeze it within hours – that’s how you break the cycle of WhatsApp threats, arsons, and shootings,” said Mike Starchuk, Imagine Surrey’s candidate for Mayor. “Until they were pushed in January by both the Premier and Prime Minister, Brenda Locke and her team were slow to react and behind the curve. That ends now. The Mayor of Surrey needs to brief residents every single week on progress – or get out of the way for leaders who will.”
About Imagine Surrey
Imagine Surrey is a civic movement of frontline community leaders, led by former City Councillor and MLA Mike Starchuk, committed to building a safe, affordable, and less traffic-congested Surrey for every resident.
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Media Contact
Scott Williams
Imagine Surrey & Mike for Mayor Campaign
604-356-7606
[email protected]