THE Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) on Wednesday confirmed that the victim in the January 12 residential fire in Surrey has been identified as 27-year-old Naseem Mohammed.
Mohammed was known to police and is believed to be associated to the BC Gang Conflict. This investigation is active and ongoing.
Just hours after the victim was murdered, his name was being announced by social media as a well-known gangster. But The VOICE decided to wait for police to confirm the name. It was known in the community that the house belonged to a prominent South Asian — Bahadur Singh Sandhu — who is living in South Surrey and had rented the place.
Investigators are working to understand the totality of the circumstances leading up to the death, including the cause of death and cause of the fire.
Shortly after 7 a.m. on January 12, SPS officers responded to calls of a house fire in the 12700-block of 56 Avenue to assist Surrey Fire Services (SFS) with road closures. During their efforts to extinguish the fully engulfed residence and search it for any victims, SFS members discovered the body of an adult individual, who was deceased.
Based on initial investigative steps, the death was determined to be suspicious and IHIT deployed and assumed conduct of the investigation.
On the same day, SPS responded to a report of a vehicle fire in the area of Redwood Park at 17900 20th Avenue in Surrey. At this stage, investigators believe this to be related to the ongoing investigation and are looking for anyone with information, CCTV or dash camera footage from the area between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. on January 12.
“We believe this was a targeted incident with a potential nexus to organized crime,” said Cpl. Sukhi Dhesi, IHIT Media Relations Officer, on Tuesday. “We are working closely with the Lower Mainland District Integrated Forensic Identification Service (LMD IFIS) and the Combined Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia (CFSEU-BC) to advance the investigation.”
Since the outset, IHIT investigators have been working closely with Surrey Police Service (SPS) to complete priority tasks, collect evidence and advance the investigation. This includes reviewing CCTV, dash camera footage, conducting interviews and working to build a timeline leading up to the fire that broke out shortly after 7 a.m.
Investigators are still looking for anyone who has information or dashcam, CCTV footage from the area of the residential house fire at 12700 block of 56 Avenue between the hours of 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. am on January 12 to call the IHIT information line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or by email at ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
