Police bust criminal network operating bawdy houses in Mississauga

Peel Regional Police say they’ve arrested four women accused of being part of a criminal network that exploited “victims of Chinese-descent” at bawdy houses in Mississauga.

In a release Wednesday, police said Project Pacific was a collaborative investigation that led to the identification of 13 human trafficking survivors and several arrests, along with the seizure of cash, drugs and property.

Police allege the network was operating several illegal bawdy houses in Mississauga where victims were taken advantage of due to their precarious financial situations.

“These vulnerable individuals were being exploited and victimized as a result of their limited ability to monetarily sustain themselves,” police said in a release.

On March 27 and April 5 police executed numerous search warrants resulting in the arrests of four women.

Leung Ngai, 59, of Milton, Yuan Yuan Zhang, 39 of Markham, Yu-Hobley Lan, 63, of Mississauga and Kwai Lin Tso, 55, of Mississauga, are facing a slew of charges.

On April 14, police also arrested Eamonn Handrahan, a 71-year-old male from Mississauga, and charged him with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

“Human trafficking is something that can happen anywhere, and in many cases, the victims don’t know they’re being exploited or are too afraid to come forward,” said Deputy Chief, Investigative and Emergency Services Command, Nick Milinovich.

“We will not tolerate the victimization of vulnerable populations in our community.”