A new provincewide police task force focused on the fight against human trafficking has already paid dividends in Barrie.
Criminals involved in human trafficking were given a wake-up call Wednesday as police services across the province officially announced progress made by the Provincial Human Trafficking Intelligence-led Joint Forces Strategy (IJFS). Officers from Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Barrie Police Service and York Regional Police are among the 21 police departments involved in the strategy.
Highlighted in Wednesday’s online news conference were two human-trafficking investigations, dubbed Project Wrigg and Project Harwich, which included collaborative work through the IJFS.
The complexity of human trafficking in Ontario, including use of local hotels and 400-series highways, was also showcased.
Project Harwich was a focus of Barrie police's human-trafficking unit and Police Chief Kimberley Greenwood said she was happy with the results.
“Harwich started at the beginning of the year and involved our own human-trafficking unit in co-operation with the OPP and the IJFS anti-human trafficking members,” Greenwood said.
The local investigation led to a pair of search warrants being executed and two cases that are now before the courts.
Shawn Cromwell, 37, of Barrie and Rami David Madini, 32, of Levis, Que., were both arrested and have been charged.
Cromwell has been charged with sexual assault, failure to comply with undertaking, and failure to comply with probation. He was released from custody with a promise to appear in court.
Madini has been charged with trafficking in persons, assault causing bodily harm, failure to comply with an undertaking, and two counts of assault. He was remanded into custody.
In January 2021, the Barrie police human-trafficking unit began investigating a male who was suspected of trafficking a woman here in the city. The IJFS jumped in to support the investigation. Police allege the victims were being trafficked out of hotels in the area by two individuals.
On May 19, 2021, the Barrie police tactical unit, crime unit and members of the IJFS executed search warrants in Barrie.
One suspect was arrested on May 19 and the other on Nov. 13.
Greenwood said “multiple" women involved in the Project Harwich investigation "have been rescued from this lifestyle and have worked closely with us."
The chief also said Barrie's proximity to Highway 400 is a cause of concern as it relates to human-trafficking in Ontario.
“We find the 400-series of highways are a way in which victims can be transported quickly throughout the province and the country,” Greenwood said. “Also, we are a gateway to the north and we have traffickers travelling with their victims from the GTA to the northern areas.”
On March 6, 2020, the provincial government announced funding to establish the IJFS, consisting of full-time investigators and analysts who will be assigned to participating police agencies across Ontario, including municipal and First Nations, along with additional resources to the OPP.
The 21 police agencies participating in the IJFS include: Anishinabek, Awkwesasne, Barrie, Durham, Halton, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Niagara, OPP, Ottawa, Peel, Peterborough, Six Nations, Greater Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Treaty Three, Waterloo, Windsor, and York.
