Charges of human trafficking and human smuggling are laid
A West Vancouver woman has been accused of keeping a slave, the CBC reports, after a report emerged from a 21-year-old female who was allegedly recruited from Africa with the promise of a job in a hair salon. Once the woman arrived in Vancouver, she was made to work up to 18 hours a day, seven days a week in a private home and wasn’t paid, say police. Meanwhile, the homeowner allegedly kept the woman’s identity papers and passport. After one year, the young woman left and went to a women’s shelter while the RCMP human trafficking team investigated. West Vancouver resident Mumtaz Ladha, 55, has been charged with one count of human trafficking and one count of human smuggling, only the second time such charges have been laid in B.C.