Victoria Police are seeking potential victims of the four human trafficking suspects who were arrested in Swift Current, SK last month.
Two Victoria residents, 36-year-old Shermineh Sheri Ziaee and 23-year-old Shawn Alexander Kelly, were arrested along with Nanaimo residents 19-year-old Seyed Kourosh Miralinaghi and 19-year-old Seyed Kamran Miralinaghi during a traffic stop on January 28th.
See also: Four Vancouver Island residents arrested for human trafficking in Saskatchewan
“These four individuals have close ties to the Victoria area and investigators now believe that there may be additional victims here,” said VicPD in a statement on Tuesday.
“Our investigators are inviting anyone who may have information about human trafficking involving these four people to come forward. Our officers want victims of human trafficking to know that they will not be judged. They will be listened to. They will be heard.”
According to Swift Current Online, 36-year-old Shermineh Sheri Ziaee and 23-year-old Shawn Alexander Kelly were both granted bail terms at a hearing on February 4th while twin brothers Seyed Kourosh Miralinaghi and Seyed Kamran Miralinaghi were denied bail.
Background
Two Victoria residents, Ziaee and Kelly, and two Nanaimo residents, the Miralinaghi brothers, were arrested near Swift Current, Saskatchewan on January 28th, 2020.
According to an RCMP release, an off-duty police officer spotted three vehicles speeding in unison along Highway 1 going towards Swift Current.
As police pulled them over and were in the process of issuing tickets for speeding at 153 km/h, they noticed something unusual.
Officers became suspicious of the relationship between the drivers and two girls under the age of 18 in the back seats of the vehicles, neither of whom had any identification.
Observing signs of human trafficking, the officers arrested the three men and one woman for related charges.
See also: Victoria human trafficking suspect adopts new name to conduct business on Facebook
They each face charges including transport of a person under the age of 18 for the purpose of exploiting them, procuring a person to offer or provide sexual services, harbouring a person who offers or provides sexual services for consideration, or exercised control or movement of that person, and knowingly advertising an offer to provide sexual services.
Ziaee also faces one charge of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
Police say the two underage girls are from BC and not related to those arrested.
