GTA restaurant owner, head chef charged after allegedly exploiting foreign workers

A Halton Regional Police cruiser is seen in this undated image. (Twitter/Halton Regional Police)

Two men from Oakville are each facing several charges after foreign workers at a local sushi restaurant were allegedly “exploited through deception and coercion in connection with their work,” say police.

Halton Regional Police Service said they received a report in March about the labour trafficking of three Mexican nationals employed at August 8 Sushi Restaurant, at 280 North Service Rd. W., in Oakville.

They subsequently executed search warrants at the eatery and at two homes in Oakville.

Inside the residences, police said they found individuals living in “cramped, overcrowded, and unsanitary conditions.”

“The victims were subjected to control that left them feeling powerless and dependent, with violations extending to their sexual integrity,” they said in a news release.

Investigators added that they also allegedly seized several items during the execution of the warrants and that additional victims came forward to them.

On June 11, the franchise owner of August 8, Rong Xi Yu, 46, of Oakville, was arrested and charged with one count of possession of property obtained by crime – over $5,000, three counts each of trafficking in persons and receive material benefit.

The establishment’s head chef, Wenjun Li, 27, of Oakville, was also arrested on June 11 and charged with three counts each of trafficking in persons, receive material benefit, withhold or destroy identity documents, and sexual assault

They are also both facing six counts of unauthorized employment of foreign national under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Both Yu and Li have been held in custody pending a bail hearing in Milton.

The charges laid against them have not been proven in court.

Police believe there may be additional victims and are asking anyone with information to contact Det. Scott Heyerman of Halton Reginal Police Service’s Human Trafficking Unit at 905-825-4747, ext. 4973, or Crime Stoppers anonymously.