Four suspects have been convicted of violently breaking into a Vancouver home three years ago and kidnapping a family to Richmond. Vancouver police said the case involved three women and one man who were taken from their home in the 5200 block of St. Catherines Street around 4 a.m. on March 11, 2023, and then taken to a location where they were “held hostage for a period of time.”
The victims included a couple and their two daughters, aged 21 and 18, who were bound with duct tape, their mouths gagged with packing tape and then abducted into several of the family’s vehicles. The three female victims were taken to a car and abandoned on Rice Mill Road in Richmond. They eventually sought help from staff at a nearby BC Ferries service station (pictured above).
The victim’s father was taken to his company on River Road in Richmond, then transferred to another car where he was repeatedly beaten and extorted before being abandoned in a remote location in Surrey.
In April 2024, after a year-long investigation, Vancouver police arrested three of the four suspects and recommended that the prosecution bring charges. The prosecution also prepared to bring charges against the remaining suspect. Two 21-year-old men from Surrey, Duoth Techen Garkouth and Ramadhan Ibrahim-Hussein, have been charged with kidnapping and trespassing, and both have pleaded guilty.
An unnamed 17-year-old pleaded guilty to unlawful entry and unlawful confinement in 2024 and has since served his sentence. Another defendant, 23-year-old Sijuola Obatusa, was convicted on the 2nd of this month on the same charges as the first two defendants after a trial in the British Columbia Supreme Court.
According to police, the 23-year-old defendant is accused of planning and directing the incident and playing a commanding role during the home invasion and kidnapping. Vancouver Police Department Constable Darren Wong stated, “The judge’s ruling affirms the investigators’ extensive efforts in gathering evidence and bringing these offenders to justice. More importantly, it gives the victims a sense that justice has been served.”
The three defendants remain in custody and will appear in court on May 6 to determine the date for their sentencing hearing.