Abbotsford, B.C., business owner says alleged extortion calls keep coming

Abbotsford, B.C., business owner Jas Arora said he and his family woke up Thursday night to find the front of their home covered in broken glass and gasoline.

Arora said it stoked the fear he's been living with for more than a yearbecause of a caller allegedly demanding millions of dollars and threatening his family.

"We were scared," Arora said. "We don't feel safe at all."

Arora and other business owners across Canada have reported a series of similar alleged extortion calls. And whilepolice and the province say they've started a national investigation, Arora said the threats keep coming.

Arora provided CBC News security footage of his home from Thursday night. It showssomeone stepping out from the dark of night to throw objects at his home. A dog can be heard barking loudly. So can the sound of glass shattering.

He said when police arrived, he received another call allegedly demanding $1 million in the next three days.

In an email to CBC News, Const. Scott McClure with the Abbotsford Police Departmentconfirmed its major crimes unit is looking into the incident, but could not comment further at this stage in the investigation.

"Police take this very seriously and government takes this very seriously," B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth told CBC News Friday.

According to Farnworth, similar extortion calls often involve organized criminal activity from other provinces and countries, including the United States and India.

He said RCMP and authorities in B.C., Alberta and Ontario are collaborating in a national investigation into the calls, and several arrests have been made across Canada including "a couple" of arrests in B.C.

"This is obviously very frustrating and concerning for business owners," Farnworth said. "But the police are doing everything they can."

But Arora said he's been going to police since the calls started in spring 2023, all from the same caller.

"This is police not doing anything," he said. "They just give you a police file number and say 'OK, let me know if you see anything.'"

In an email, McClure confirmed Abbotsford police closed a file related to the 2023 extortion threats.

At first, according to Arora, they demanded $2 million. He said they later dropped the amount to $1 million.

Last month, several Metro Vancouver business owners met to share their accounts of alleged extortion calls and threats.

"I've been begging, I've been requesting, please, please listen to me," Arora said. "I really need it. I'm very scared. I really don't know what to do."