Latest news with #human trafficking
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
‘Gone within the blink of an eye': Shelter for human trafficking survivors in Durham Region destroyed by fire
A shelter for survivors of human trafficking in Courtice was destroyed by a fire on July 2. (SafeHope Home photo) A shelter for survivors of human trafficking in Durham Region was destroyed by a fire earlier this month, displacing four residents and leaving the long-term future of the facility up in the air. The fire broke out at around 5:20 p.m. on July 2 at SafeHope Home's long-term transitional residence for women in Courtice. Though the cause of the fire has not yet been determined, the non-profit organization's executive director Jasmine De Fina told CP24 that she believes it may have been sparked by a lightning strike. De Fina said that three residents along with a staff member were making dinner inside the bungalow when they heard a 'loud bang that sounded like thunder' and felt the ground shake. Moments later, they saw what appeared to be a haze through the window, which she said was initially thought to be heavy rain as a thundershower had just started. 'And then the staff quickly realized that it was actually smoke,' she said. De Fina said the residents and staff member safely got out of the house and immediately called 911, watching the place they called home go up in flames as they waited for firefighters to arrive. 'The whole place essentially just burned down before them. …(Firefighters) did arrive quickly, but (the house) was just gone within the blink of an eye,' she shared. SafeHope Home destroyed in July 2 fire A shelter for survivors of human trafficking in Courtice was destroyed by a fire on July 2. (SafeHope Home photo) While no one was hurt, all of the women's belongings as well as the contents of the house were destroyed. De Fina said neighbours told them that they saw lightning hit the roof of the house in the moments before the fire. She said that on average, six or seven women (and occasionally their children) live in at SafeHope Home's residence at any given time. They usually stay there for about two years as they work to rebuild their lives, she said. De Fina added that the location has housed about 10 residents each year since it opened seven years ago, but its future is now in doubt. 'This fire didn't just affect the women that are there today, it affected those why stayed there in the past. It has brought up a lot for them too to watch it burn down,' she said. SafeHope Home destroyed in July 2 fire A shelter for survivors of human trafficking in Courtice was destroyed by a fire on July 2. (SafeHope Home photo) Clarington Emergency and Fire Services Deputy Chief Randy Cowan told CP24 that there were torrential rains and lighting in the area at the time of the fire. He said that while crews are still working to determine the cause of the blaze, there is nothing to suggest anything suspicious. The homeowner's insurance company is now working to determine the cost of the damages and items lost, but that may take some time, he said. Residence opened in 2018 SafeHope Home opened its long-term transitional residence in February 2018 following a years-long search and fundraising effort. Purchased, outfitted, and operated entirely through donations, it is the only survivor-led safe house of its kind in Canada for women over the age of 26, De Fina said. 'There is nothing like SafeHope Home. … We will do anything to support these women,' said De Fina, who is also a survivor of domestic sex trafficking. Aside from providing housing and support for residents, SafeHope Home's women's home also served as a place where various programs and counselling for survivors of human trafficking living in the community were offered. SafeHope Home destroyed in July 2 fire A shelter for survivors of human trafficking in Courtice was destroyed by a fire on July 2. (SafeHope Home photo) Short-term housing has been found for the four displaced residents but De Fina said SafeHope Home simply does not have the capital on hand to buy a new residence to replace the one that burned down, leavings the facility's long-term future in doubt. She added that because the home housed highly vulnerable women and its address has now been revealed, it must now be relocated to another location in the region. 'The women are fleeing very dangerous, very violent situations and so this was a secured location. Almost nobody knew the actual address of the home,' she explained. 'We definitely can't go back to that home because it was all over the news. People have drone images. Obviously we needed to let people know the situation so that we can get help, (but) we can't go back there even if it is rebuilt.' While the home was insured, De Fina suspects that there will be a considerable cost associated with finding a new permanent location. 'We're trying our best, but ultimately we may not be able to continue to house these survivors… We're not sure if we're going to have to close our doors,' De Fina said. 'We just need the house to be funded and if (it) isn't funded I just don't know if we can continue these programs. I don't know that we'll be able to put another roof over their head.' Jasmine De Fina, SafeHope Home e.d. Jasmine De Fina, the executive director of SafeHope Home in Durham Region, chats with CP24 on July 16. A crowdfunding page has been launched to help with SafeHope Home's relocation effort. Donations can also be made to the oraganizarion directly. The Courtice home was SafeHope's only shelter, however the organization also provides a range of anti-human trafficking services in Durham Region and throughout the province, including outreach and a long-term recovery program, which is funded by the provincial government. Chris Clark, the spokesperson for Ontario's Minister of Children, Community, and Social Services, said in a written statement that the provincial government is offering its 'full operational support and help with connecting those impacted (by the fire) to appropriate resources in the community and will continue to monitor as the situation evolves.'
South China Morning Post
15 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese police investigating 5 missing teens issue further warnings about telecoms crime
Chinese police are investigating at least five cases of teenagers who have gone missing recently and are suspected of being caught up in scam centres , including some who have lost contact with their families after travelling to Myanmar Police in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province in central China, issued a notice on Wednesday, confirming the disappearance of an 18-year-old high school student who had travelled to a city in Yunnan province, in southwestern China, at the border with Myanmar. According to his parents, the student surnamed Hu left school to look for a job in Hefei in April. But in late June his mother could not find him at his workplace. 03:32 'We're not scammers': China, Thailand join forces to free thousands from Myanmar scam hubs 'We're not scammers': China, Thailand join forces to free thousands from Myanmar scam hubs He was reported last seen near a restaurant in Jinghong, Yunnan, after coming out of Xishuangbanna airport on June 5, having flown from Nanjing. Jinghong police said they had no further information about him. Hu's disappearance is not an isolated case. In the past month, many teenagers aged 18 or 19 who set out to travel or work during the summer holiday reportedly travelled to Yunnan without their families' knowledge, and then lost contact in the border area. According to Elephant News, an official news outlet in Henan province, a mother in Hubei urgently sought help on Tuesday, saying that her high school student son and two of his classmates had lost contact after going to Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture on June 24, and that they were suspected to be in Myanmar, where telecoms-related crime is rampant. Hubei police confirmed the case, saying that the three students had arrived in Xishuangbanna prefecture on June 25 and lost contact with their families and friends two days after their arrival. Their last message was sent from abroad, police said. The mother in Hubei said her son had previously met a 'buddy' on the internet who had invited the three to go to Yunnan with him, saying he was 'delivering rhino horns'.
Washington Post
19 hours ago
- Washington Post
Asking Eric: Family pressures sister to ignore siblings' crimes
Dear Eric: My parents recently died a few months apart. While taking care of my mom's last wishes, my sister told me that she went to prison for human trafficking years ago. She wasn't sorry for it in any way and defended her actions. She may as well have told me she was a serial killer. I can't even look at her now.
CBC
a day ago
- CBC
Manitoba hotel owner charged with trafficking employees granted bail
A Manitoba hotel owner charged with human trafficking has been granted bail after four of his employees from India reported being underpaid, forced to work 15-hour days and threatened with deportation. Jai Inder Sandhu, 63, sat quietly in the prisoner's box in a Winnipeg courtroom Wednesday afternoon as Manitoba provincial court Judge Robert Heinrichs delivered the reasons for his decision. Those reasons cannot be revealed because of a publication ban. Sandhu's release conditions include abiding by a curfew, turning in his Canadian passport to RCMP within 48 hours of being released from custody and having no contact with the four complainants in the case or with his co-accused, Satbir Sandhu, 48, unless they're with their lawyers or as needed for court purposes. RCMP announced last month they'd charged the two, who are a couple, with trafficking in persons and receiving material benefit from trafficking, while Jai Inder Sandhu was also charged with withholding or destroying documents and uttering threats. Police did not identify their hotel by name, but CBC News confirmed Jai Inder Sandhu is an owner of the Howard Johnson hotel in Portage la Prairie. Sandhu's release conditions include a bail of $10,000 cash and sureties for a total of $40,000. He was also ordered to live at a specific address in Winnipeg and not move without permission from the court. Mounties previously said their investigation in the case began on Feb. 9, when they got a call about a disturbance at the hotel west of Winnipeg, where the four employees lived and worked. Two female employees later came forward to report their situation to police, and another woman and a man were later also identified as victims, RCMP said. Mounties said all four were promised fair wages, affordable living and legal work in Manitoba through federal labour market impact assessments — documents issued to employers by the federal government that allow them to hire foreign workers if they can't find a Canadian or permanent resident to fill a position. Until recently, those assessments both allowed foreign nationals to work legally in Canada and increased their chances of becoming permanent residents by adding points to their permanent residency applications. WATCH | 2 arrested in labour trafficking investigation, say Manitoba RCMP: 2 arrested in labour trafficking investigation, say Manitoba RCMP 20 days ago In the Portage la Prairie case, while three of the employees eventually got the assessment document, which would have legalized their work, the employer didn't meet the conditions outlined. Another of the employees never got one, RCMP said. The employees reported being paid roughly half of Manitoba's minimum hourly wage and said they faced threats of deportation and other intimidation tactics. In one instance, one person said their identification documents were withheld from them, Mounties said. The four did "pretty much everything" at the hotel, from working the front counter and the restaurant to doing cleaning, RCMP said. One person was recruited through friends of family, while others got involved through word of mouth or advertisements online. All had been working at the hotel for 10 months to a year, police said.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
People smuggler who trafficked adults and children into Britain claimed he shouldn't be deported because 'it would be too disruptive for his daughter'
A people smuggler who trafficked adults and children into Britain has claimed he shouldn't be deported because 'it would be too disruptive for his daughter'. Miklovan Bazegurore is wanted by authorities in Ghent where he was previously sentenced to five years in jail for his part of a human trafficking ring. The Kosovan national had put several adult's and children's lives at risk by smuggling them in the backs of lorries - including one that contained a concrete mixing mill. But his lawyers cited the convicted criminal's right to a family life under European Court of Human Rights act in their appeal against extradition. The claimed his 10-year-old daughter, who has special education needs, would suffer if her father had to spend time in a foreign jail. However, a judge at the Court of Appeal said the severity of the offences trumped the father-of-two's rights. Bazegurore played a central role in the international people smuggling ring that operated between Belgium, France and the UK. The gang 'exploited vulnerable people, including children' for financial gain and smuggled Albanian immigrants into the UK in the back of lorries from the continent. The National Crime Agency caught up with the gang after they intercepted one such lorry containing nine adults and two children in Milton Keynes in June 2016. In August 2016 another lorry was stopped in Belgium and was found to contain nine Albanian adults and four children. Bazegurore was convicted by a court in Ghent of facilitating the illegal immigration of people. The authorities there said Bazegurore was 'centrally involved in the unlawful people smuggling' and that it was an 'habitual, tight and well organised international smuggling ring'. Bazegurore was sentenced to five years in jail by a court in Ghent in March 2018. In September 2018 he was jailed for nine years at Aylesbury Crown Court after pleading guilty to conspiracy to facilitate illegal immigration in connection with the Milton Keynes incident. Since he was released from prison for the British offences in 2023 Bazegurore has been fighting extradition to Belgium where he is required to serve his first sentence. A district judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court agreed he should be sent to Belgium to face justice but his lawyers appealed this. They used the European Court of Human Rights Act to try and prevent the British authorities from granting extradition. His barrister Amanda Bostock said that him being extradited would interfere with his, his wife's and his children's right to a family life. It was important for the welfare of his 10 year old daughter, named only as X, to have her parents present to support her. Since he was released from prison in 2023, Bazegurore has worked at a scaffolding yard close to the family home. The court was told that he also takes the children to and from school and has become closer to them. His legal team cited an expert report conducted by Dr Sharon Pettle, a consultant clinical psychologist who said it 'will be extremely disruptive for the children if he is now extradited.' She stated his wife has been able to cope with bringing up their children but found it 'very challenging.' But a Court of Appeal judge has ruled that the people smuggling offences that are outstanding in Belgium were so serious Bazegurore should be extradited. Mr Justice Calver said: 'The difficulty with Ms Bostock's submission is the seriousness of the offence for which the Appellant is wanted by the Belgian authorities. 'The offending was organised and planned. It exploited vulnerable people, including children, for financial gain. 'The offending sought to facilitate the unlawful entry of multiple people into this jurisdiction, thereby undermining the proper operation of the immigration systems and the security of national borders in multiple jurisdictions across Europe. 'The District Judge was correct to identify that the offending for which the Appellant is wanted is one of the most serious offences on the scale of offending. I' can well see that if the offence for which the Appellant were wanted in this case was, for example, shoplifting, then in view of the Appellant's challenging family circumstances the analysis might be very different. 'But it is not: as the Ghent Court of Appeal emphasised the offence is very serious indeed. 'Added to this is the fact that X has her mother, family and friends to assist in her care, albeit I have no doubt it will be a very challenging time for them indeed without their father. ' Mr Justice Calver said the high threshold under Article 8 of the European Court of Human Rights of a 'rare' and 'exceptional' case has not been met by Bazegurore lawyers and the appeal was dismissed.
