Man arrested in B.C. extortion investigation after being identified it traffic stop

SURREY — British Columbia’s extortion task force says a 22-year-old man has been arrested and charged with offences linked to ongoing extortion violence in the province.

Police say the man was identified by Metro Vancouver Transit officers in August 2025 during a traffic stop in Surrey, B.C., where two loaded handguns were found in his car.

Extortion investigators then looked into the information collected during the stop and found possible links to extortion violence in the Metro Vancouver area.

The man was charged June 17 with two counts of occupying a vehicle with a firearm, and he was arrested in Abbotsford, B.C., on Tuesday.

Police did not say which specific case of extortion violence the arrest was linked to.

As of Monday, Surrey police say 128 extortion cases have been reported in the city this year, including 20 cases of shots fired and two arsons.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2026.

The Canadian Press