picture taken on September 06,2017 by Matthew Trevithick/AM980
Most people in London think of human trafficking as an international crime. it’s is known as an international crime but, it’s also local. London police human trafficking unite state that, the majority are, in fact, Canadian-born teenage girls, 50 per cent of victims are between 18 and 24, and 25 per cent are under 18. Traffickers are controlling people in many ways, such as psychological manipulation, emotional and physical abuse, etc..
The London human trafficking unit was created back in 2016, where detective Mike Hay used to pose as a John, and now has become the head of the unit working along side two other dectetive. Each member of the team has an ongoing investigations where the work takes time and doesn’t always end with a bust. The human trafficking unit has just finished thier second major project where they got other officers from different units within the London Police Service to help, and for four weeks during the project, the officers were posing as Johns and escorts, charging men who were looking to buy sex.
human trafficking is a vastly under-reported crime. Ontario is a major centre for human trafficking in Canada, with about two-thirds of reported cases arising in Ontario.
The hotels in London’s proximity to Hwy. 401 just off North America’s busiest highway, is where most pimps are selling their victims.