Notoriously violent N.S. gang recruiting women, girls and pimping them out in Ontario: police
Jennifer O'Brien, Postmedia Network | July 27, 2016
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/c...g-them-out-across-southwestern-ontario-police
A notoriously violent gang rooted in Nova Scotia is recruiting girls and young women in Southwestern Ontario and pimping them out along the Highway 401 corridor, say police and women’s advocates.
Members of North Preston’s Finest are among gangs operating in the region, the OPP say.
The gang has been connecting with area girls and women for more than a year, said the head of the London Abused Women’s Centre that has been focused on victims of sex trafficking.
“These are very dangerous people and these girls are terrified,” Megan Walker said. “They are trafficking guns, drugs and women and they are settling in Southwestern Ontario from Windsor up to Toronto.”
Since January the centre has helped 134 women and girls who say they’ve been trafficked and 75 at risk of being trafficked, Walker said.
She couldn’t say how many, if any, had been victimized by the Nova Scotia gang.
The North Preston gang surfaced in Nova Scotia in the early 1990s, and has since expanded beyond that province to traffic women, guns and drugs across Canada.
Toronto police have said they believe the gang has members and affiliates in the mega-city.
Recent news reports have said police believe Edward Delten Downey, who faces first-degree murder charges in the deaths this month of Sara Baillie and five-year-old Taliyah Marsman of Calgary, has ties to the gang, as does the girl’s father.
The gang is among others pimping girls along the Highway 401 corridor, said Det. Sgt. Kimberly Miller, the OPP’s regional abuse issues co-ordinator in western Ontario.
“I can confirm that there are groups, (recruiting women and girls in the region), including the group you are talking about,” Miller said. “It’s a very lucrative business because victims are just reused over and over.”
London police say they’re aware of reports North Preston’s Finest is recruiting women in the city.
“While we don’t have first-hand information that they are operating in London, we would be naive to think they would exclude London from their area of operation,” said Det. Insp. Paul Waight, head of the force’s criminal investigations division.
London New Democrat MPP Peggy Sattler said the presence of out-of-province gangs operating in Southwestern Ontario underlines the need for government funding for extra police costs to deal with human trafficking.
“This situation reinforces what we know in our community, what we’ve been hearing about in Southwest Ontario and London in particular as a hub to lure victims,” said Sattler, the London West MPP.
Sattler was part of an all-party committee of the Ontario legislature on sexual violence and harassment that toured the province, calling last year for the Liberal government to create a task force to fight human trafficking. “It’s a much bigger issue than just one province,” Sattler said. “There is a real immediate need for funding to support . . . co-ordination and collaboration that is necessary (between police forces) within provinces and across provinces.”
Last month, Ontario said it will spend $72 million to fight human trafficking by establishing an anti-trafficking office and a prosecution team dedicated to the issue.
“We need to see the dollars flowing immediately,” Sattler said.
She said while serving on the committee she heard disturbing and heartbreaking anecdotes from women who’d been trafficked. “The stories that we heard about the violence from women . . . were some of the most disturbing of the whole process of the select committee.”
The OPP and municipal police forces across Ontario are focused on making contact with victims in a bid to get them information about ways to escape and get help.
“My main focus is helping the victims and getting the information out to them,” Miller said.
The OPP is trying to train officers so “every officer up and down our corridor talks the same language and offers support to the girls and boys and youth,” she said.
Miller couldn’t provide statistics on the results of efforts to rescue victims, but said “we’ve certainly had some successful encounters” with women and girls. “Unfortunately, victims often don’t see themselves as victims and it’s vastly under-reported crime and they are not just jumping in our arms.”
Police say you should call them if you see something that doesn’t seem right at an area hotel.
“If you’re at a hotel or motel and see someone trying to drag someone into a car and they’re fighting, call us and we’ll deal with it,” Miller said.
Legal Assistance Windsor, a group that received Ontario Trillium Foundation funding to fight human trafficking, has worked with at least one former victim of North Preston’s Finest, director Shelley Gilbert said.
“With her and other victims, the first priority has to be their safety and ensuring that they might have to go into hiding for a period of time,” she said. “When you are involved with a very serious group like them, safety is the most important thing.”
Gilbert said the victim was recruited “in the same way many people” become victims of human trafficking.
“Through the idea that this was going to be a loving relationship, that this would be something that would be a short-time job for her and became a forced lifestyle after a period of time. When that recognition comes in place, it becomes even more dangerous,” she said.
Gilbert said with big money at stake, it’s no surprise to see gangs like North Preston’s Finest here.
“There are organized groups that have a lot of experience in forcing compliance and trafficking of various products, including women. This is a very big business and it makes people a lot of money. They are going to move through the country and various jurisdictions to do what they do.
“When it’s organized and structured and very powerful, it’s more frightening. We are talking about groups of individuals that have a whole infrastructure around the type of business they are in,” she said.
Jennifer O'Brien, Postmedia Network | July 27, 2016
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/c...g-them-out-across-southwestern-ontario-police
A notoriously violent gang rooted in Nova Scotia is recruiting girls and young women in Southwestern Ontario and pimping them out along the Highway 401 corridor, say police and women’s advocates.
Members of North Preston’s Finest are among gangs operating in the region, the OPP say.
The gang has been connecting with area girls and women for more than a year, said the head of the London Abused Women’s Centre that has been focused on victims of sex trafficking.
“These are very dangerous people and these girls are terrified,” Megan Walker said. “They are trafficking guns, drugs and women and they are settling in Southwestern Ontario from Windsor up to Toronto.”
Since January the centre has helped 134 women and girls who say they’ve been trafficked and 75 at risk of being trafficked, Walker said.
She couldn’t say how many, if any, had been victimized by the Nova Scotia gang.
The North Preston gang surfaced in Nova Scotia in the early 1990s, and has since expanded beyond that province to traffic women, guns and drugs across Canada.
Toronto police have said they believe the gang has members and affiliates in the mega-city.
Recent news reports have said police believe Edward Delten Downey, who faces first-degree murder charges in the deaths this month of Sara Baillie and five-year-old Taliyah Marsman of Calgary, has ties to the gang, as does the girl’s father.
The gang is among others pimping girls along the Highway 401 corridor, said Det. Sgt. Kimberly Miller, the OPP’s regional abuse issues co-ordinator in western Ontario.
“I can confirm that there are groups, (recruiting women and girls in the region), including the group you are talking about,” Miller said. “It’s a very lucrative business because victims are just reused over and over.”
London police say they’re aware of reports North Preston’s Finest is recruiting women in the city.
“While we don’t have first-hand information that they are operating in London, we would be naive to think they would exclude London from their area of operation,” said Det. Insp. Paul Waight, head of the force’s criminal investigations division.
London New Democrat MPP Peggy Sattler said the presence of out-of-province gangs operating in Southwestern Ontario underlines the need for government funding for extra police costs to deal with human trafficking.
“This situation reinforces what we know in our community, what we’ve been hearing about in Southwest Ontario and London in particular as a hub to lure victims,” said Sattler, the London West MPP.
Sattler was part of an all-party committee of the Ontario legislature on sexual violence and harassment that toured the province, calling last year for the Liberal government to create a task force to fight human trafficking. “It’s a much bigger issue than just one province,” Sattler said. “There is a real immediate need for funding to support . . . co-ordination and collaboration that is necessary (between police forces) within provinces and across provinces.”
Last month, Ontario said it will spend $72 million to fight human trafficking by establishing an anti-trafficking office and a prosecution team dedicated to the issue.
“We need to see the dollars flowing immediately,” Sattler said.
She said while serving on the committee she heard disturbing and heartbreaking anecdotes from women who’d been trafficked. “The stories that we heard about the violence from women . . . were some of the most disturbing of the whole process of the select committee.”
The OPP and municipal police forces across Ontario are focused on making contact with victims in a bid to get them information about ways to escape and get help.
“My main focus is helping the victims and getting the information out to them,” Miller said.
The OPP is trying to train officers so “every officer up and down our corridor talks the same language and offers support to the girls and boys and youth,” she said.
Miller couldn’t provide statistics on the results of efforts to rescue victims, but said “we’ve certainly had some successful encounters” with women and girls. “Unfortunately, victims often don’t see themselves as victims and it’s vastly under-reported crime and they are not just jumping in our arms.”
Police say you should call them if you see something that doesn’t seem right at an area hotel.
“If you’re at a hotel or motel and see someone trying to drag someone into a car and they’re fighting, call us and we’ll deal with it,” Miller said.
Legal Assistance Windsor, a group that received Ontario Trillium Foundation funding to fight human trafficking, has worked with at least one former victim of North Preston’s Finest, director Shelley Gilbert said.
“With her and other victims, the first priority has to be their safety and ensuring that they might have to go into hiding for a period of time,” she said. “When you are involved with a very serious group like them, safety is the most important thing.”
Gilbert said the victim was recruited “in the same way many people” become victims of human trafficking.
“Through the idea that this was going to be a loving relationship, that this would be something that would be a short-time job for her and became a forced lifestyle after a period of time. When that recognition comes in place, it becomes even more dangerous,” she said.
Gilbert said with big money at stake, it’s no surprise to see gangs like North Preston’s Finest here.
“There are organized groups that have a lot of experience in forcing compliance and trafficking of various products, including women. This is a very big business and it makes people a lot of money. They are going to move through the country and various jurisdictions to do what they do.
“When it’s organized and structured and very powerful, it’s more frightening. We are talking about groups of individuals that have a whole infrastructure around the type of business they are in,” she said.
