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Not sure if the MM willing, or forced. But then if they come here to make money willingly, is it Trafficking???
Here is the article:
Police raid residential erotic massage parlour, leading to 76 human trafficking charges for alleged ringleader
Shaamini Yogaretnam, Postmedia News | September 16, 2015 | Last Updated: Sep 16 11:10 AM ET
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The house at 2066 Merivale Road was one of three properties investigated in conjunction with a human trafficking bust.
MATT DAY/OTTAWA SUNThe house at 2066 Merivale Road was one of three properties investigated in conjunction with a human trafficking bust.
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Three Asian women who didn’t speak a word of English stood on the doorstep of a Merivale Road massage parlour Monday morning as police began combing through the house, one of three police raided, leading to 76 charges against one man.
Three search warrants were executed in Ottawa on Monday after a four-month probe into an alleged human trafficking ring. The charges come as the future of the Ottawa Police Service’s human trafficking unit that launched the investigation hangs in the balance while police officials decide whether to make the pilot program permanent.
Tactical officers raided the New Edinburgh home of the alleged ringleader and his wife on Charles Street just minutes before the Merivale bust. Police also raided a high-end condo on York Street, where they found another woman suspected of being trafficked.
Police seized $14,000 in cash and found alleged evidence that money was being exchanged for sexual service at the Merivale home.
Zhao Liu, 33, faces 76 charges — involving 17 alleged victims — including recruiting, procuring, and advertising the sexual services of others.
MATT DAY/OTTAWA SUN
MATT DAY/OTTAWA SUNOne of the rooms inside 2066 Merivale Road. A Durex condoms box, a bed, multiple packages of baby wipes, and a sign with the No. 2 on it can be seen inside the room. It was one of three properties investigated in conjunction with a human trafficking bust.
Police have said he is known to them. He was previously charged with human trafficking offences in 2013. In 2014, he was charged with breaching his conditions.
Liu’s wife was released without charges.
The massage parlour project began in April when the trafficking unit was assisting border services and bylaw officers with a three-day sweep of Asian massage parlours in the city. It was then that police identified multiple locations where women, linked to one man and some in the country illegally, were working.
All of the locations were rental properties. Police were able to see that the same person was posting similar ads on Backpage.com for different locations.
Police raided one of the homes months ago. The women who had been working there were removed. Yet days later, police again started receiving complaints from neighbours who noticed the excessive traffic to and from the home. A new crop of workers had showed up. Sgt. Jeff Leblanc called it a “revolving door” of women, which raised police suspicion about who these women were.
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The residential spots were advertised as massage parlours, but police believe they offered sexual services.
The priority for the trafficking pilot project is investigating conditions where people are working in the sex trade against their will, said Leblanc. In addition to the sergeant, four detectives — two men and two women — along with a crime analyst round out the unit.
“With only four investigators, it’s tough sometimes,” Leblanc said.
That’s especially the case with human trafficking cases which, unlike other crimes, are not guided by provincial legislation. That means investigators must work on all aspects of the case, from the investigation to supervising victims at court to guard against threats of intimidation, explained Leblanc.
Police began the two-year pilot in October 2013 with officers loaned from other sections.
The unit will now have to present a business case for full-time status. At the very least, officers hope the unit will be made permanent but are looking for additional investigators to be added to the small staff. For either of those changes to be made, the police force needs to grow.
Chief Charles Bordeleau has already committed to asking the police board to hire 75 new officers over the next three years.
Bordeleau identified combating violence against women as one of his key initiatives for the police force. The unit, as a branch of that arm, is investigating threats, violence and extortion against women. All of the victims in human trafficking cases in Ottawa, to date, have been female.
“The priority (to extend the unit) should be pretty high,” Leblanc says.
Liu appeared in court for a bail hearing Tuesday.
The women, whose status in Canada is being investigated, were taken to the police station to be interviewed via an interpreter. No charges were laid against them.
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发表于 2015-9-17 03:29:55
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