After his arrest in Saskatchewan made waves on Vancouver Island, court records indicate a Nanaimo man was charged for committing similar trafficking crimes at home in 2019.
19-year-old Seyed Kourosh Miralinaghi was one of four people arrested in Swift Current, SK, on charges of human trafficking.
Both he and 19-year-old brother Seyed Kamran Miralinaghi are from Nanaimo. Their two accomplices, 36-year-old Shermineh Sheri Ziaee and 23-year-old Shawn Alexander Kelly, are from Victoria.
These are not the first human trafficking-related arrests for Seyed Kourosh, who was charged four times in 2019 for committing similar crimes in Nanaimo.
On February 24th, 2019, Seyed Kourosh was charged with procuring a person under 18 years, advertising sexual services for consideration, and benefitting from sexual services by a person under 18.
And on January 1st, 2019, he was also charged with procuring a person under 18 years.
See more: Four Vancouver Island residents arrested for human trafficking in Saskatchewan
All four suspects are being held in Swift Current, Sk. Their first courthouse appearance was on January 31st. They will remain in custody at least until a video hearing on February 5th.
In a video posted to Twitter by Swift Current Online reporter Anthony Janzen, the three men arrested can be seen laughing while walking — hands and feet cuffed — into a courthouse. They are accompanied by two other suspects from unrelated cases.
https://twitter.com/AnthonyJanzen3/status/1223346873362075648
All four were apprehended by Swift Current RCMP on the afternoon of Tuesday, January 28th, after an off-duty police officer noticed three cars speeding and driving suspiciously.
During a traffic stop, officers became suspicious of the relationships between the passengers in the three cars, mainly two young female passengers without IDs.
Ziaee, Kelly, and both Miralinaghis were then arrested. They face a host of charges, listed on the Swift Current RCMP’s website here.
