Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Canadian police arrest 31, lay over 300 charges in human trafficking investigation

Published 2019-10-16, 01:59 p/m
Updated 2019-10-16, 02:01 p/m
Canadian police arrest 31, lay over 300 charges in human trafficking investigation

Canadian police arrest 31, lay over 300 charges in human trafficking investigation

By Moira Warburton

TORONTO (Reuters) - More than 300 charges have been laid and 31 arrests made in a multi-province human trafficking criminal investigation, Canadian police said on Wednesday.

York Regional Police in southern Ontario received tips from two female victims of trafficking in October 2018, who were "coming to the end of their rope," said Thai Truong, an inspector with the YPP, in a press conference.

Initially the women were unwilling to share information and police had only "bits and pieces of what was happening," he said, but within a few days one of the women became willing to cooperate.

Truong said the two had "attempted to flee the primary suspect of this investigation," whom police identified as a pimp and considered to be the "kingpin" in the organization.

From there police identified a network of suspects "believed to be involved in a large, multi-provincial, human trafficking ring run by organized crime," a separate police press release said.

Arrests and search warrants were carried out on Oct 10 in more than 30 locations across Toronto and the surrounding area, as well as in Quebec, according to the press release.

Police identified 12 further victims, the majority of whom were from Quebec "but had been moved to Ontario and across Canada for sex trade purposes," the press release said.

The year-long investigation involved five different police forces from two provinces.

The Canadian Center to End Human Trafficking "commends the survivors who came forward with their tip," Barbara Gosse, chief executive of the organization, told Reuters, and characterized the arrests as proof of the need for "collaborative action" to end human trafficking in Canada.

According to the most recent government data available, police-reported incidents of human trafficking in Canada rose nearly six fold between 2009 and 2016.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.