4 women, 1 man charged in Ontario human trafficking case involving 13 victims
Four women and one man have been charged in connection with year-long human trafficking investigation in Mississauga that police say involved 13 victims who "came to Canada for a better life" but were instead coerced into working in the sex trade.
On Wednesday morning, police held a news conference to announce charges in the investigation, dubbed “Project Pacific, which was launched in April of 2022.
“The Peel Regional Police vice unit received a community complaint regarding an illegal bawdy house operating out of a condominium apartment in the city of Mississauga,” Det. David Laing told reporters at Peel police headquarters on Wednesday.
“Vice investigators identified a criminal network operating multiple illegal bawdy houses within the city of Mississauga. It was determined that these illegal bawdy houses were being openly advertised for sexual services on the internet.”
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
He said the suspects in the case exploited the vulnerabilities of the victims to “coerce and manipulate them into working and living within these illegal bawdy houses.”
“All 13 victims in this investigation are of Chinese descent and have varying immigration status,” Laing added.
David Laing, Det. Specialized Enforcement Bureau, speaks to the media on May 31, 2023. (CTV News Toronto)
“One thing that all of these victims had in common was that they came to Canada for a better life, however 12 of these victims were recruited domestically.”
Search warrants were carried in Mississauga, Milton, and Markham on March 27 and as a result, two women were arrested.
Leung Ngai, a 59-year-old Milton resident, was charged with exercising control, direction of influence, three counts of deriving material benefit from sexual services, communicating for the purpose for consideration for sexual service, three counts of trafficking a controlled substance, and two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Yuan Yuan Zhang, a 39-year-old Markham woman, was charged with six counts of communicating for the purpose for consideration for sexual service.
Police say the search warrants resulted in the seizure of Canadian and U.S. currency, multiple cellphones and other electronic storage devices, and a quantity of drugs.
On April 5, another round of search warrants were executed on five homes and two vehicles, leading to the arrest of two more women, police say. Drugs and Canadian currency were also seized.
Yu-Hobley Lan, a 63-year-old Mississauga resident, was charged with exercising control, direction or influence, three counts of deriving material benefit from sexual service, and possession of a controlled substance.
Kwai Lin Tso, a 55-year-old woman who also resides in Mississauga, was charged with communicating for the purpose for consideration for sexual service, and possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Police say a 71-year-old man was also arrested in connection with the case on April 14. Eamonn Handrahan, of Mississauga, was charged with one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking.
“Investigators anticipate additional charges to be laid against members of this criminal network for their financial gain and exploitation of the victims identified as we continue to gather and review the abundance of evidence seized throughout this investigation,” Laing said.
“As we believe there are additional victims and witnesses, we ask them to come forward.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.