According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), two men residing in rural Saskatchewan have been accused of subjecting a Bangladeshi woman to forced labour and confinement in an unfinished basement.
The RCMP in a Thursday news release revealed that a 41-year-old man from Tisdale was facing charges of trafficking a person and three counts of sexual assault, while a 52-year-old man from Elrose was charged with one count of trafficking a person.
The investigation leading to the arrest of these two individuals was initiated earlier this year by an RCMP anti-trafficking team in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, reports CBC News.
The victim, a Bangladeshi woman who was in Canada on a visitor's permit, responded to a job posting on a "popular job bank" seeking employment at a restaurant. After moving to Saskatchewan from another province, she was granted a work permit.
The police said the woman had been coerced into working long hours, typically 10 to 12 hours per day, for several months at various restaurants in Tisdale, Gull Lake and Elrose – towns located in different parts of the province. During her off hours, she was confined to an unfinished basement characterized by poor lighting and extensive water damage.
The accused men allegedly used threats of police involvement and the revocation of her work permit to enforce compliance.
On June 29, the investigation culminated in the arrest of the two men in Tisdale.
Another individual was apprehended in Elrose on Wednesday but was subsequently released without charges.
Authorities provided the victim with the necessary support following the incident.
The two accused individuals are scheduled to appear in provincial court on July 13 in Rosetown, approximately 110 kilometres southwest of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
The investigation remains ongoing, as law enforcement suspects there may be additional victims associated with this particular operation.