Human traffickers use transportation corridors to avoid detection: report

File photo.

Toronto — Human traffickers are using transportation corridors to exploit more women and girls in Canada, a new report says.

The report by The Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking, found that by continuously moving through cities and provinces sex traffickers keep their victims confused and unable to orient themselves, forcing them to rely on traffickers.

The study outlines both inter- and intra-provincial routes that allow traffickers to move victims within and between provinces.

Cars are the most frequent mode of transportation, with traffickers renting multiple vehicles throughout their travels, the report says.

“Traffickers often rent multiple cars at various stages of a corridor to make identification more difficult,” the report reads. “Renting vehicles with fake identification makes it even more challenging for law enforcement to track the movements and actions of traffickers.”

Making tracking even more difficult, traffickers use short-term stays to avoid detection.

“Law enforcement respondents pointed to a noticeable increase in traffickers’ use of short-term stays, which can pose challenges to investigations,” the report says.

Routes identified in the report include Ontario’s Highway 401, with its many offshoots to urban areas along its route between Montreal and Windsor, Ont.

In Alberta, corridors connect urban areas and work camps in Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie.

The TransCanada Highway connects traffickers with destinations in all provinces across Canada.

Travel by plane is also used to move victims across the country, according to the report.

“Law enforcement respondents specifically noted the trafficking of victims from Montreal to Calgary by airplane.“

These corridors exist in every province in Canada, only the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut are without, and that is a result of a lack of main roads and highways that allow traffickers to move quickly through towns and cities, according to the report.