A man is facing charges in Nigeria after a months-long investigation by RCMP into the death of a 14-year-old Surrey, B.C., boy who police say sent intimate images in a case of financial sextortion.

Mounties say the crime is a growing threat online that can have severe consequences for victims, who are tricked into sending images and then told to pay or send more pictures to avoid the images being distributed more widely.

“That threat to share these images … can have devastating impacts such as self-harm and even suicide,” said Sgt. Tammy Lobb at a media event in Surrey, a city in Metro Vancouver, on Tuesday.