Saskatoon police keeping close eye on human trafficking

Human trafficking isn’t just a global problem, it’s a fight that’s happening locally in Saskatoon.

Staff Sgt. Grant Obst of the Saskatoon Police said the cases they see in the city are often victims in a vulnerable state who are recruited into the sex trade with promises of money and a better lifestyle.

“It eventually and gradually moves into a situation where we see intimidation (and) violence,” he told 650 CKOM’s Brent Loucks Show on Thursday.

“The working conditions totally change where the individual that’s being exploited really has no alternative, can’t get out, is stuck,” he said.

Obst said it’s rare that victims will come forward, because they are too scared to talk.

He added that human trafficking has always been around, but the dynamics have changed to the point “where people are … being brought in from other parts of the other country. They’re being basically sold here in Saskatoon, then moved to other jurisdictions. Basically a marketing plan.”

He said that presents a challenge for investigators who have to coordinate with other police agencies to track the traffickers and their victims.

“Of course it crosses jurisdictional boundaries. So you’ve got different police services having to communicate and figure out that we’re looking at the same people here.”

Two officers from the police service’s vice unit are heading to Ottawa in September to learn about the latest trends in the trade.