3 Punjab-origin men held for human trafficking in Canada

Amritpal Singh, 23, and Harkuwar Singh, 22, were charged with sex trafficking, advertising sexual services, and benefiting from sexual services, whereas Sukhmanpreet Singh, 23, was charged with forcible confinement and aggravated assault

Three Indian-origin men in Canada have been arrested and charged with human trafficking in connection with a case involving a victim under 18, a media report has said.

From left: Amritpal Singh, Harkuwar Singh, and Sukhmanpreet Singh. (Photo: Peel Regional Police)

Police have arrested and charged the three men from Ontario’s Brampton city and are searching for a fourth suspect, a South Asian, in relation to a human trafficking investigation involving a minor victim, the Toronto Star newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Amritpal Singh, 23, and Harkuwar Singh, 22, were charged with sex trafficking, advertising sexual services, and benefiting from sexual services, whereas Sukhmanpreet Singh, 23, was charged with forcible confinement and aggravated assault.

On Saturday, police launched a probe into allegations that an underage girl had been held against her will, violently assaulted numerous times and was being trafficked within the sex trade, it said, adding that the victim was taken to a hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries.

All the arrested men appeared before the Ontario Court of Justice on August 22.