Police in Halton, Ont., announced dozens of charges against nine people allegedly connected to a human trafficking network that spanned Ontario and Western Canada.
Halton Regional Police Service Deputy Chief Jeff Hill told a news conference on Tuesday that said officers arrested the suspects after executing 10 search warrants earlier this month in Halton, Peel and Toronto. Police laid more than 80 charges.
Halton officers partnered with police across southern Ontario, including Ontario Provincial Police, Hamilton Police Service and Toronto Police Service, he said.
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Halton Regional Police/Supplied
The investigation began after a woman who was trafficked for 15 years came forward to the police, Mr. Hill said. From there, police identified 11 more victims, who were all women, with more people likely impacted as the investigation is “just the tip of the iceberg.”
“Human trafficking is not a crime that exists in isolation. It affects the safety, security and wellbeing of our entire community,” he said.
“This investigation demonstrates that human trafficking knows no borders or boundaries.”
Halton Police Detective Scott Heyerman told reporters during the Tuesday news conference that the victims’ ages range from 18 to 34. No minors were identified in the investigation, he said.
The women were trafficked across the country, with evidence supporting them going to British Columbia and Alberta and elsewhere in Ontario, Mr. Heyerman said.
He didn’t say who owned the properties the victims were trafficked from. The accused people advertised the sexual services through online advertisements, Mr. Heyerman said.
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Top row: Nicholas Bennett, Christian Collins, Michelle DiMarco. Bottom row: Omar Brooks, Meryln Brooks, Jaidis Brooks-Reynolds, Malinda Brooks.Illustration by Halton Regional Police Service
Five of the accused arrested are from the same family, Mr. Heyerman said, but didn’t elaborate further.
Among those charged is Omar Brooks, 40, from Burlington, Ont. He’s facing 34 charges including three counts of trafficking in persons and seven counts of receiving material benefit from sexual services. All of the accused were held in custody before their bail hearings in Milton, Ont.
The allegations against them have not been tested in court.
The Globe and Mail reported Tuesday that recent research from Thomson Reuters identified human trafficking routes by examining thousands of sex advertisements claiming to feature Indigenous women and girls posted online over the past decade.
The data suggests that traffickers are frequently using Ontario as a starting point. The most commonly used corridor in Canada is between Toronto and Vancouver. It is followed by Edmonton to Fort McMurray, Alta.; Calgary to Edmonton; and Belleville, Ont., to Edmonton.