In August of 2019, the Toronto Police Service's Human Trafficking Enforcement Team was contacted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Portland's Child Exploitation Task Force in regards to an alleged organized crime group that was operating a prostitution ring. This investigation had a nexus to United States, Canada and Australia.
The primary suspect of the FBI's investigation was a man named Zongtao Chen aka, Zong Tao Chen, aka Mark Chen. It was believed that he was residing in the Greater Toronto Area.
It is alleged that:
According to the indictments, Zongtao Chen headed a criminal enterprise that recruited women, primarily from China, to travel to the U.S. and elsewhere to engage in prostitution and other sex trafficking activities. Within the cities the organization was operating, a "boss" would oversee and manage a local brothel in a hotel or apartment complex. Customers seeking to engage in acts of illegal prostitution would call a number listed on www.supermatchescort.com or related websites, or send a message by text, email, or WeChat, an encrypted internet messaging service based in China. The organization employed dispatchers who would receive incoming requests from potential customers to set up "dates." The dispatchers would coordinate and schedule the "dates" with women working at the various brothels.
Dispatchers used a computer program to schedule and track all of the prostitution dates. This computer program had a customer database that logged more than 30,000 customer phone numbers with details from previous dates.
Members of the Human Trafficking Enforcement Team commenced an investigation into Zongtao Chen in regards to possible offences occurring in Canada connected to the FBI investigation. Zongtao Chen, 46, was located and found to be living in the Greater Toronto Area.
As a result of the Human Trafficking investigation in Toronto, members of the Human Trafficking Enforcement Team, applied for Criminal Code search warrants for properties and vehicles related to Zongtao Chen.
On Tuesday, January 15, 2019, a multi-jurisdictional take down operation was conducted in the United States, Canada and Australia. Members of the Toronto Human Trafficking Enforcement Team, Fugitive Squad and the Financial Crimes Unit – Asset Forfeiture Section executed several Criminal Code search warrants and located Zongtao Chen inside one of the properties. He was placed under arrest on a Provisional Arrest Warrant for the indictments in Oregon.
He appeared in Superior Court at 361 University Avenue on Wednesday, January 16, 2019, in relation to the extradition order by the United States Government.
The Toronto Police Service Human Trafficking Enforcement Team is continuing their investigation into Zongtao Chen regarding Human Trafficking related offences that have taken place in Toronto. If anyone has information relating to Zongtao Chen regarding his activities surrounding Human Trafficking, please contact the Toronto Police Service Human Trafficking Enforcement Team.
Police are concerned there may be more victims.
Police would like to encourage all affected individuals to come forward and report Human Trafficking occurrences to police. We want to make sure that everyone has access to support services and an exit strategy, regardless of their decision to proceed criminally.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7474, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, online on our Facebook Leave a Tip page, or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637). Download the free Crime Stoppers Mobile App on iTunes, Google Play or Blackberry App World.
Human Trafficking means every person who recruits, transports, transfers, receives, holds, conceals or harbours a person, or exercises control, direction or influence over the movements of a person, for the purpose of exploiting them or facilitating their exploitation, for a sexual purpose or a forced labour purpose. Victims can be men, women or children; can be Canadian citizens; and can be moved across local, provincial or national borders. They can be coerced through violence or the threat of violence against family and friends. The Human Trafficking Enforcement Team of Sex Crimes is dedicated to investigating these crimes against vulnerable members of society. For more information, please visit the Sex Crimes website.
For more news, visit TPSnews.ca.
The primary suspect of the FBI's investigation was a man named Zongtao Chen aka, Zong Tao Chen, aka Mark Chen. It was believed that he was residing in the Greater Toronto Area.
It is alleged that:
According to the indictments, Zongtao Chen headed a criminal enterprise that recruited women, primarily from China, to travel to the U.S. and elsewhere to engage in prostitution and other sex trafficking activities. Within the cities the organization was operating, a "boss" would oversee and manage a local brothel in a hotel or apartment complex. Customers seeking to engage in acts of illegal prostitution would call a number listed on www.supermatchescort.com or related websites, or send a message by text, email, or WeChat, an encrypted internet messaging service based in China. The organization employed dispatchers who would receive incoming requests from potential customers to set up "dates." The dispatchers would coordinate and schedule the "dates" with women working at the various brothels.
Dispatchers used a computer program to schedule and track all of the prostitution dates. This computer program had a customer database that logged more than 30,000 customer phone numbers with details from previous dates.
Members of the Human Trafficking Enforcement Team commenced an investigation into Zongtao Chen in regards to possible offences occurring in Canada connected to the FBI investigation. Zongtao Chen, 46, was located and found to be living in the Greater Toronto Area.
As a result of the Human Trafficking investigation in Toronto, members of the Human Trafficking Enforcement Team, applied for Criminal Code search warrants for properties and vehicles related to Zongtao Chen.
On Tuesday, January 15, 2019, a multi-jurisdictional take down operation was conducted in the United States, Canada and Australia. Members of the Toronto Human Trafficking Enforcement Team, Fugitive Squad and the Financial Crimes Unit – Asset Forfeiture Section executed several Criminal Code search warrants and located Zongtao Chen inside one of the properties. He was placed under arrest on a Provisional Arrest Warrant for the indictments in Oregon.
He appeared in Superior Court at 361 University Avenue on Wednesday, January 16, 2019, in relation to the extradition order by the United States Government.
The Toronto Police Service Human Trafficking Enforcement Team is continuing their investigation into Zongtao Chen regarding Human Trafficking related offences that have taken place in Toronto. If anyone has information relating to Zongtao Chen regarding his activities surrounding Human Trafficking, please contact the Toronto Police Service Human Trafficking Enforcement Team.
Police are concerned there may be more victims.
Police would like to encourage all affected individuals to come forward and report Human Trafficking occurrences to police. We want to make sure that everyone has access to support services and an exit strategy, regardless of their decision to proceed criminally.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7474, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, online on our Facebook Leave a Tip page, or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637). Download the free Crime Stoppers Mobile App on iTunes, Google Play or Blackberry App World.
Human Trafficking means every person who recruits, transports, transfers, receives, holds, conceals or harbours a person, or exercises control, direction or influence over the movements of a person, for the purpose of exploiting them or facilitating their exploitation, for a sexual purpose or a forced labour purpose. Victims can be men, women or children; can be Canadian citizens; and can be moved across local, provincial or national borders. They can be coerced through violence or the threat of violence against family and friends. The Human Trafficking Enforcement Team of Sex Crimes is dedicated to investigating these crimes against vulnerable members of society. For more information, please visit the Sex Crimes website.
For more news, visit TPSnews.ca.