Police in the Toronto area announced charges connected to an alleged human-trafficking network that spanned Ontario and Western Canada and involved a dozen victims, including one who officers said was trafficked for 15 years before she came forward.
Halton Regional Police Service Superintendent David Costantini told a news conference on Tuesday that officers arrested nine suspects after executing 10 search warrants earlier this month in Halton, Peel and Toronto. Police laid more than 80 charges as part of the commercial sexual-exploitation network investigation, dubbed Project Troubadour.
The probe began after a woman who was trafficked for 15 years came forward to the police in Sept., 2025, he said. From there, police identified 11 more victims, who were all women. Mr. Costantini said more people are likely affected, calling the investigation “just the tip of the iceberg.”
The victims were from across the country and were trafficked to different provinces, with evidence showing they were moved to British Columbia, Alberta and around Ontario, according to officers. The arrests highlight the wider nature of human trafficking in Canada, where vulnerable people are transported and exploited across provincial borders.
“Behind every exploitation investigation or human trafficking, there’s a person that has had their trust, freedom and dignity taken away from them,” Mr. Costantini said.
Ten search warrants were executed in Halton, Peel and Toronto.Halton Regional Police/Supplied
Halton Police Detective Scott Heyerman, who led the investigation, told reporters during the Tuesday news conference that the victims’ ages range from 18 to 34. He said no minors have been identified in the investigation, which is still in progress.
The July 13 raids were aimed at dismantling the network’s tiered hierarchy, and were not “street-level” arrests, Halton Police Deputy Chief Jeff Hill said. Five of the accused are from the same family, according to officers.
The accused allegedly advertised the sexual services of victims through online advertisements, Mr. Heyerman said.
The Globe and Mail reported Tuesday that recent research from Thomson Reuters identified human-trafficking routes by examining thousands of sex ads claiming to feature Indigenous women and girls posted online over the past decade.
Researchers found cases where ads for the same person were posted in locations separated by vast distances just a few days apart. Last month, The Globe reported that predators are increasingly using short-term rentals to facilitate human trafficking and move their victims between cities.
Data from Thomson Reuters suggest that traffickers are frequently using Ontario as a starting point. The most commonly used corridors in Canada are Toronto to Vancouver; Edmonton to Fort McMurray, Alta.; Calgary to Edmonton; and Belleville, Ont., to Edmonton.
“This investigation demonstrates that human trafficking knows no borders or boundaries,” said Mr. Hill.
Top row: Nicholas Bennett, Christian Collins, Michelle DiMarco. Bottom row: Omar Brooks, Merlyn Brooks, Jaidis Brooks-Reynolds, Malinda Brooks.Illustration by Halton Regional Police Service
Some of the accused individuals allegedly manipulated, coerced and psychologically harmed the victims, Mr. Heyerman told reporters.
“We believe that making these arrests and keeping our accused parties in jail, or on bail, is important because this is what makes our victims feel safe, and it allows some opportunity to distance themselves from the traffickers,” he said.
Among those charged is Omar Brooks, 40, from Burlington, Ont. He’s facing 34 charges, including three counts of trafficking in persons and seven counts of receiving material benefit from sexual services.
Mr. Heyerman said Mr. Brooks is accused of exploiting and trafficking the woman who came forward to police.
While conducting the search warrants, police seized nearly $1-million in cash, drugs and property, including three sports cars and two Sea-Doo Jet Skis, a police news release said.
A lien search by The Globe showed both Mr. Brooks and co-accused, 74-year-old Merlyn Brooks, leased a new Sea-Doo Jet Ski roughly three weeks before their arrests.
Halton officers partnered with police across Southern Ontario, including the Ontario Provincial Police, Hamilton Police Service and Toronto Police Service. Investigators used wire-taps and other surveillance techniques in the lead up to the arrests, Mr. Costantini said.
All of the accused were held in custody before their bail hearings in Milton, Ont. The allegations against them have not been tested in court.