Saskatoon police crackdown on sex trade results in four arrests

Four men have been charged after a Saskatoon police crackdown on the sex trade.

In a media release Thursday, police said investigators conducted the operation Wednesday to “apprehend persons responsible for purchasing sexual services from high-risk sex workers.” The four men — aged 27, 29, 45 and 53 — were charged with communicating for the purpose of obtaining consideration of sexual services.

“Those purchasing sexual services may be contributing to the exploitation of minors, trafficking in persons and proliferation of organized crime in the community,” the police release said.

“The Vice and Human Trafficking Unit employs a number of strategies designed to reduce exploitation in the sex trade; including demand enforcement, proactive outreach to vulnerable persons, and the disruption of those responsible for trafficking persons.”

The police service noted its Vice and Human Trafficking Unit also helps connect victims and survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation within the sex trade with the community resources they need.

Anyone with information or a tip about human trafficking is asked to visit www.canadianhumantraffickinghotline.ca or call police at 306-975-8300.