Covert police mission aims to free sex trafficking victims

CTV News' Michele Brunoro rides long with an elite counter-exploitation unit in Calgary that is on the frontlines of fighting trafficking.

Content Warning: some readers may find the subject matter disturbing

• Part of the series Hidden in plain sight: Human trafficking and the B.C. connection

They called it Operation Coven.

It was a covert mission carried out by a special Alberta law enforcement team known as ALERT.

“The goal today is to save and rescue people from human trafficking,” explained Staff Sgt. Gordon MacDonald of ALERT’s Human Trafficking and Counter Exploitation Unit.

CTV News was invited to observe on a day that ALERT carried out what the team refers to as an “intervention” in Calgary.

Calgary is one of the cities where B.C. trafficking victims can end up after being put on a circuit and moved from place to place.

It’s also a city where human trafficking is not just growing, it is thriving.

“It’s everywhere in Calgary. Everywhere you work. In universities, in schools, everywhere you look someone’s being trafficked,” explained Tracey Lowey, a crime and intelligence analyst with ALERT.

“It’s the second biggest crime, right behind drugs. And it’s growing exponentially. It’s unbelievable.”

Lowey’s job on this operation is to scan ads online, trying to identify potential underage girls and women trapped in the sex trade.

“I use a software program called Traffic Jam and what Traffic Jam does is it scrapes the internet for me for female escorts. Anything that’s posted overnight,” Lowey explained.

“I just looked on Leo’s list between yesterday and today. There’s 792 ads in Calgary.”

Lowey showed CTV News how she searches for keywords and symbols.

“I go through (the ads) and you see, here’s the crown,” she said, pointing to an ad with a crown symbol.

“The crown means most likely they’re being trafficked … It’s one of the emojis that shows he’s in charge."

Lowey narrows down the hundreds of ads to a handful the team believes are worth investigating.

Then an officer, posing as a client, starts answering them and setting up fake “dates” with the women in the ads.

ALERT calls this work “interventions.” They hope the ads allow them to find and offer help to those being sexually exploited.

“We have what’s called a safety network co-ordinator and one of our social workers (who) will go in and talk to the girls,” Lowey said.

Within about an hour and a half, investigators have had four replies to the six ads they’ve responded to. With one date already set up, they drive to the meet-up point, which turns out to be a hotel in downtown Calgary.

On the way, the team of more than a dozen members, is in constant contact.

“If you guys are in the parking lot or around the area, just keep your eyes peeled for anybody sitting in the vehicle by themselves,” Acting Staff Sgt. Dan Hall radioed to his team as they approached the hotel.

They are on the lookout for a trafficker who might be waiting and watching.

“We just don’t know what we’re walking into, potentially,” explained MacDonald.

“We’re arranging to meet with people. Quite often we’re not dealing with the individuals themselves, we’re dealing with traffickers. And we’ve had cases in Calgary recently where we’ve arrested traffickers who are in possession of loaded firearms.”

Once at the hotel, safety checks were done before officers moved in, followed by social workers.

But the woman they were meeting, whose ID was from the Vancouver area, turned out not to be underage, and told officers she doesn’t need help.

The team believed there was more to the woman’s story.

“Not a lot of co-operation in wanting to come with us or take any of our resources, but she seemed very happy we were there,” said Hall.

Since its inception in 2020, ALERT’s Human Trafficking and Counter Exploitation Unit has helped free or provide trauma care or other support to more than 180 victims.

Earlier this year, an “intervention” mission led them to a Ukranian refugee who police said was being sexually exploited and wanted out. They were able to help her.

“Her first client she was supposed to meet was one our officers,” said MacDonald.

Two years ago, an ALERT investigation out of Edmonton prompted a Canada-wide warrant for Kemron Alexander, who was charged in connection with the sex trafficking of a 12-year-old girl from B.C.

Experts tell CTV News that young people can become victims faster than you might imagine.

“Days. I’ve seen it happen over the course of days,” said Calgary police Const. Lisa Freeman.

She said traffickers often meet young people at local hangouts and start conversations.

“It could be even something as simple as a cigarette that sparks a conversation between a potential trafficker and a young person,” she said, adding that soon after, the trafficker might offer gifts like a cellphone or fancy clothing.

Then, the persuasion begins.

“Their young minds don’t compute what is happening and the ulterior motive,” she said, explaining that the victim may still be afforded a degree of freedom.

“People think this (trafficking) is something where maybe they’re held, but often that’s not the case. They’re able to come and go freely, but there’s always the draw of coming back to be with that person,” Freeman said.

“Once they’re past a certain threshold, there’s always a degree of fear and intimidation,” she explained.

Back on the road, the ALERT team heads out to a second meet-up at Calgary area motel.

However, there will be no door knock as officers learn the identity of the woman before going in. They realize she is someone who is not being trafficked, but works independently.

The operation is terminated for the day and the team heads back.

There are no rescues on this day, but team members told CTV News so much of their work is building trust.

They hope they’ve started to establish that trust with the first woman they met, so that if and when she wants a way out, she will know there is help.

This project was made possible with funding provided by the Lieutenant Governor’s B.C. Journalism Fellowship in partnership with Government House Foundation and the Jack Webster Foundation.