No charges have yet been laid but the B.C. government wants to keep the 22-year-old Honda Civic driven by the suspects and recovered by Surrey police
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Surrey police investigating a January extortion-related shooting recovered the vehicle used in the attack shortly afterwards.
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And while no charges have yet been laid, the B.C. government wants to keep the 22-year-old Honda Civic driven by the suspects that day.
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A recent lawsuit was filed by the director of civil forfeiture laying out some details of the extortion investigation.
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It says that the grey Honda was used on Jan. 20 by suspects to fire gunshots into a Skyline Auto, in the 7200-block of King George Boulevard in Surrey.
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Police investigating “found evidence of firearms being discharged near both the building of the business and two vehicles in the business’s lot causing damage,” the statement of claim filed last month said.
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At the time, the SPS said the shooting happened at 4:30 a.m. when no one was inside the business.
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“Fortunately, nobody was injured as a result of the incident,” a January news release said.
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The director’s lawsuit said security cameras captured the older four-door car approaching the business.
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“The CCTV footage shows the Honda Civic approach the business with the passenger window open, a front passenger wearing a red face covering, and then several muzzle flashes from the passenger-side window of the Honda Civic,” the director said.
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“On or about Jan. 26, 2026, the SPS performed a dual-purpose traffic stop of the vehicle.”
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Inside the vehicle was its registered owner, Damanveer Singh, in the passenger seat. His brother Taranvir Singh was driving.
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Investigators then compared photos of the vehicle taken at the time of the traffic stop and compared them to the security footage, determining that it was the same car.
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Police stopped the Honda again on Feb. 25 in the 9600-block of 129th Street and seized the vehicle. Damanveer Singh was driving.
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Singh has no criminal record in B.C. After the government agency sent him a notice saying it was seeking administrative forfeiture of the car, he filed a dispute, leading to the start of court proceedings.
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The civil forfeiture director said the vehicle should be forfeited “as an instrument of unlawful activity.”
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The crimes allegedly committed include mischief, recklessly discharging a firearm at a building and vehicles, unauthorized possession of a firearm and using a firearm in the commission of an offence, the statement of claim said.
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If Singh wasn’t involved in the shooting, he “knew and authorized, implicitly or explicitly, or ought to have known how the vehicle was being used to engage in the unlawful activity,” the director added.
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No statement of defence has been filed.
