The Government of Canada has issued a new passport to a known human trafficker after the document was ordered surrendered as part of a court-ordered release, CBC reported on Tuesday.The passport was found in 2023 by RCMP executing a search warrant at the Montreal home of Thesingarasan Rasiah during an investigation into an international human trafficking network that Rasiah supposedly headed, said court documents obtained by CBC. “At the time, Rasiah was living at home with an electronic ankle bracelet on strict conditions while awaiting sentencing on a February 2023 guilty plea to one count of breaching the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for his role in the smuggling of a Sri Lankan national from the U.S. into Canada in 2021.”Human trafficking involves recruiting, moving, or holding victims to exploit them for profit, usually for sexual reasons or forced labour, says the Government of Canada (GOC) on its website, noting traffickers can control and pressure victims by force or through threats, including mental and emotional abuse.Human trafficking is a fast-growing crime in Canada, with victims in their teens to mid-twenties and beyond, reported CBC.“The process is surreptitious, manipulative and predatory,” they wrote, noting social media is a significant tool for traffickers. "It offers anonymity and easy access to targets, and it allows unsuspecting victims to put the intimate details of their life on display without the oversight of parents or guardians — information that a trafficker can then use to lure them.”Human trafficking doesn't always involve crossing borders, says the GOC. It's not just an international problem, "It's happening right now in communities across the country."According to police reports around 96% of those trafficked are women and girls. Most reported human trafficking in Canada happens in Ontario according to GOC statistics, while around 90% of victims know their trafficker.
The Government of Canada has issued a new passport to a known human trafficker after the document was ordered surrendered as part of a court-ordered release, CBC reported on Tuesday.The passport was found in 2023 by RCMP executing a search warrant at the Montreal home of Thesingarasan Rasiah during an investigation into an international human trafficking network that Rasiah supposedly headed, said court documents obtained by CBC. “At the time, Rasiah was living at home with an electronic ankle bracelet on strict conditions while awaiting sentencing on a February 2023 guilty plea to one count of breaching the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for his role in the smuggling of a Sri Lankan national from the U.S. into Canada in 2021.”Human trafficking involves recruiting, moving, or holding victims to exploit them for profit, usually for sexual reasons or forced labour, says the Government of Canada (GOC) on its website, noting traffickers can control and pressure victims by force or through threats, including mental and emotional abuse.Human trafficking is a fast-growing crime in Canada, with victims in their teens to mid-twenties and beyond, reported CBC.“The process is surreptitious, manipulative and predatory,” they wrote, noting social media is a significant tool for traffickers. "It offers anonymity and easy access to targets, and it allows unsuspecting victims to put the intimate details of their life on display without the oversight of parents or guardians — information that a trafficker can then use to lure them.”Human trafficking doesn't always involve crossing borders, says the GOC. It's not just an international problem, "It's happening right now in communities across the country."According to police reports around 96% of those trafficked are women and girls. Most reported human trafficking in Canada happens in Ontario according to GOC statistics, while around 90% of victims know their trafficker.
