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More charges expected in large organized crime human trafficking ring bust

York police wish to speak with 33 female victims of human trafficking it identified during investigation

Two female victims of human trafficking who reached out to York Regional Police after they feared being found by the pimp they left behind sparked a year-long, multi-provincial investigation that resulted in the takedown of a human trafficking ring run by an organized crime group with origins in Quebec.

York police Insp. Thai Truong today said the active and ongoing investigation known as Project Convalesce has so far resulted in more than 300-plus charges and 31 arrests. The local force continues to seek other identified suspects and expects additional charges to be laid.

Police say it has dismantled an organized crime human trafficking ring that includes an alleged kingpin and suspected pimp, Jonathan Nyangwila of Markham, figureheads, underbosses, and strikers, who take on the most high-risk activities within the organization. 

The two female victims who originally contacted York police in fear for their lives worked for the group, police say.

“They tried to escape and leave him (kingpin) and felt that he did not know where they were,” Truong said, adding the victims were working out of a Vaughan hotel. “But he came to Vaughan and identified where they were, and at that point they contacted York Regional Police because they were fearful he was going to get them.”

“They were coming to the end of their rope and they called us for assistance,” Truong said.

Officers soon identified the man as a pimp and a human trafficker and the ensuing investigation uncovered a large criminal network, Truong said. 

At least 45 women were identified during the one-year investigation as working in the sex trade for the group. Of those, police allege that 12 were victims of human trafficking and were identified as being involved in the sex trade.

“These victims endured violent assaults, sexual assaults, and other degrading circumstances as they were controlled by these violent criminals,” York Regional Police Chief Deputy Brian Bigras.

A majority of the victims being trafficked come from Quebec, and once they are recruited they are trafficked within that province and then moved west, to Ontario and the western provinces, police say.

The traffickers control the victims emotionally, through violence and threats of violence, drugs and alcohol, manipulation and they psychologically beaten down on a daily basis, Truong said.

“When we interact with these women, every resource we have along with partner agencies and non-government resources is given to them,” he said. “It’s a long process when you encounter a female who’s been trafficked, it takes years of help and therapy.”

Police want to speak with the 33 females identified as working in the sex trade for the group. 

“We’re hoping they reach out to us, call CrimeStoppers, or York Regional Police to speak to a trafficking investigator and we can walk them through it,” Truong said. “There’s going to be a lot of reservations and they will be scared and fearful, but we’ll help them every step of the way.”

The female victims of human trafficking range in age from 20 to mid-30s, police say. They are often forced to work seven days a week, even when they are on their menstrual cycle, Truong said.

“To the naked eye, it may appear that these females that are involved in the sex trade are willing participants, they may smile at you, that may not even appear to be controlled or victimized, but I can tell you from the last year, that is not true,” he said. “We have seen the horrific things that are happening to these women. They are controlled in every way imaginable and it is not glamorous whatsoever.”

The organized crime group funded its human trafficking ring primarily through various frauds, police say, including obtaining credit cards and lines of credit through identity fraud, purchasing and they selling expensive items such as clothing, electronics, and jewellry.

“With human trafficking it’s all for profit,” Truong said. “The trend we’ve been seeing is that the pimps have been getting younger and younger.”

“The uniqueness of this is that we’ve actually identified a criminal organization that is not only primarily involved with human trafficking, they’re involved with every other offence, predominantly frauds organized across the country, and the profit from that is fuelling human trafficking,” he said.

For the first time, police say the ring that’s been taken down trades female victims within the ranks of their own organization.

“Below the kingpin are individuals that have their own stable of girls, too,” Truong said.

For the complete list of those arrested, along with the charges they face, visit here.