The latest I seen in today's Star online is they were running ads on the internet...did not say which sites but one would think maybe CL...
Curtis Rush
Staff Reporter
The women are young and beautiful, mostly from Eastern European countries, police say.
In two cases the women were using false Israeli passports.
They travel here based on Internet promises of modelling jobs and a better life.
When they arrive, they are confined to "safe houses" until they can be trusted, police say. Then they're forced to provide sex to clients who answer Internet ads, earning only enough themselves to survive on.
Police speculate that might be as little as $50 a week, while bringing in up to $10,000 a week for the criminal ring exploiting them.
Vice officers say the women are told "you owe us" for paying their travel costs to Canada and "you'll have to work that off."
So far, two women so used are in police detention while four individuals, including a husband and wife, are under arrest for a variety of charges including human trafficking and forcible confinement.
Toronto police held a news conference yesterday to appeal to any other women caught on this web to come forward.
Det. Sgt. Dale Ervick said he has no idea how many other reluctant sex workers from abroad may be in this city. At this point, he's guessing another six to 10 victims.
The police detective said the two women in detention are telling stories about the threats that were made if they went to police.
"They are controlled. They're very vulnerable," Ervick told reporters. "They are kept isolated from each other."
He assured other victims that police will advocate on their behalf with Immigration Canada."There are options," he said.
The sex ring, he added, is a "cross-border" operation run by a "well-organized" group. The women imported may be here illegally and speak very little or no English.
Ervick said he doesn't know how long the sexual slavery ring has been operating, perhaps for a year or more. "It's a hidden industry," he said.
None of the victims so far have been minors. However, they are under 25.
Police say the investigation began last week when a woman went to a downtown police station telling of sexual slavery and confinement.
A series of raids Friday led to the arrests of three men – Andrei Khazarov, 39, and Daniel Leshinsky, 38, both of Thornhill; and Artur Boris Tomchin, 35, of Toronto.
Tomchin's 35-year-old wife, Volha Vassilievna Venar, was arrested at their North York home Sunday.
Police are appealing to victims to contact 52 Division at 416-808-5206 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS.
