Three Indian nationals, including a teenager, have been arrested in Canada and charged in connection with a series of shootings at a residence apparently aimed at extortion.
Police on Monday released facial images of three Indian nationals arrested for shooting at a residence in Surrey. (Surrey Police Service)All three were arrested early Sunday morning and their names and photos were released on Monday when charges were filed against them. They have been identified as Harjot Singh, 21, Taranveer Singh, 19 and Dayajit Singh Billing, also 21. All three have been charged with discharging a firearm at a location.
They were taken into custody until Friday and police said the Canada Border Services Agency, or CBSA, was also involved as they were foreign nationals.
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Just before 4 a.m. Sunday, local police officers were patrolling a neighborhood in Surrey, British Columbia when they received reports of shots fired and a small fire outside a residence in the area.
Officers from Surrey Police Service, Lower Mainland District Integrated Police Dog Service and Delta Police Department responded to assist. SPS officers in the area located a suspect vehicle nearby and its occupants fled on foot. The three suspects were taken into custody a short time later after getting into a rideshare vehicle, SPS said in a release issued Monday.
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Members of the Surrey Fire Service were able to put out the small fire with a fence on the property. No damage was reported to the home due to the fire. However, it has been confirmed that the house occupied at the time was damaged by gunfire. No injuries were reported, police said.
Major Crime Section of SPS took charge of the investigation.
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Police were patrolling the area as part of Project Assurance, an initiative adopted after an increase in extortion incidents in the city as well as in B.C.’s Lower Mainland.
Last week, two more Indian nationals were arrested in Surrey in connection with a shooting episode linked to extortion.
Harshdeep Singh, 20, was charged with one count of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and one count of possession of a vehicle knowing possession of a firearm and 21-year-old male Hanspreet Singh was charged with one count of possession of a vehicle knowing possession of a firearm.