Members of the RCMP have arrested a 32-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman following the search of a home in the hamlet of Conrich on Wednesday during an investigation into suspected human trafficking.
According to RCMP officials, the Strathmore RCMP detachment received a complaint from someone who identified themself as a victim of human trafficking. The complainant, who is not a resident of Canada, told RCMP they had arrived in Canada on a Temporary Foreign Worker permit and were promised permanent residenct by their employers. The employers, a couple from Conrich, allegedly withheld the worker's passport and immigration documents and financially exploited them.
RCMP have not disclosed the age, gender or nationality of the worker but confirm the alleged victim is an adult. The nature of the work promised to the visitor has not been confirmed.
As a result of a lengthy investigation into the allegations, members of the RCMP Federal Serious & Organized Crime unit executed a search warrant at an undisclosed residence in Conrich on September 20. A husband and wife, 32-year-old Mohammed Sayeed Shukur Ubeydullah and 29-year-old Amandeep Kaur Heer, were arrested at their home and subsequently charged.
Shukur Ubeydullah and Heer face charges including:
- Trafficking in Persons
- Receiving Material Benefit from Trafficking in Persons
- Withholding or Destroying Documents related to Trafficking in Persons
The investigation into the allegations continues but, at this time, no other victims have come forward.
The accused have been released from custody on a recognizance and are scheduled to appear on Strathmore Provincial Court on Tuesday, October 17, 2017.
The hamlet of Conrich is situated approximately three killometres east of Calgary city limits on Township Road 250 (the continuation of McKnight Boulevard Northeast)
