Two people from Nanaimo and two from Victoria are facing human trafficking and prostitution-related charges in Saskatchewan.
On January 28th, RCMP in Swift Current stopped three vehicles on the Trans Canada Highway after an off-duty officer witnessed them speeding while driving together in a group.
The RCMP says the vehicles were traveling at more than 150-kilometers per hour.
Once they had them at the side of the highway, officers became suspicious of the relationships between them.
Two young female passengers were located in separate vehicles, each with tinted windows, sitting in the back seat with no ID.
These are indicators of human trafficking-related activity.
Swift Current RCMP arrested three adult males and one adult female for human trafficking-related offences.
The four are to appear in Swift Current Provincial Court today (Friday).
Barbara Grosse, C-E-O of the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking, says this crime happens everywhere.
She says they hear from the RCMP and from front line service providers that it “takes place in every province and territory”.
Grosse says human traffickers are searching for victims in large cities, as well as in smaller, rural communities.
She says the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking hotline has been collecting data and specific details since its launch in May of 2019 and the organization plans to put together a report on human trafficking later this year.
Victims of the crime, and people who feel they may know someone at risk and want to learn more, can contact the hotline at 1-833-900-1010 or visit the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking website.
