Canadian police rescue 64 Mexicans trapped in labor trafficking scheme

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) – Sixty-four Mexicans have been rescued from deplorable living conditions and five people arrested as part of a human labor trafficking scheme, Canadian police said Friday.

The victims were all Mexican nationals who were lured to Canada by an organized crime ring that promised “good work” and a “better life,” according to Toronto-area police.

The stark reality was very different.

“The foreign laborers described incidents of false promises, which included documentation, quality of housing, their work hours, and their pay. They also described living in deplorable conditions with dozens of people sleeping on mattresses on the floor, a lack of food, a lack of privacy and bug infestations,” York Regional Police Det. Sgt. Gary McBride said during the Friday news conference.

The workers, which included men and women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, were kept in line with threats, sexual assaults and other forms of coercion, police said.

The investigation called “Project Norte” began last November after a single Mexican national managed to get a complaint to police, detailing the conditions.

The Canada Border Services Agency was eventually involved as the investigation progressed and on Feb. 8 search warrants were executed at five properties in and around Toronto.

Five suspects were nabbed, including three Mexican nationals living in the Toronto area, police said. A few suspects were transporting the workers to job locations when stopped and arrested by police.

The victims were largely kept in isolation and were taken to “farms, factories and warehouses” where they were forced to work long hours for little pay, police said.

Two suspects remain at large, police said. Where the victims worked has not been released as an investigation is ongoing.

In 2019, 43 Mexicans trapped as “modern-day slaves" were freed by police. They had also been lured to Canada but once here lived in squalid conditions and were forced to work in hotels and at vacation properties.