Photo supplied by Lennox and Addington OPP
Three people are facing human trafficking and drug trafficking charges after a police investigation at the Odessa OnRoute on Highway 401.
The Ontario Provincial Police say officers from the Lennox and Addington County detachment were contacted by Peel Regional Police just before 1 a.m. on Thursday, July 23 after investigators tracked the phone of a missing Quebec youth. Police located the vehicle in the OnRoute parking lot and launched an investigation.
Investigators determined that two passengers in the vehicle were victims of human trafficking.
Officers also seized just under 500 grams of suspected cocaine, multiple weapons, nearly $1,500 in cash, cell phones, scales and other items linked to drug and human trafficking.
Mathis Bourgeois, 23, of Laval, Joseph-Jean Pevensly, 29, of Longueuil, and a youth from Magog, whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, are jointly charged with several offences, including human trafficking, trafficking a person under 18 and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. Bourgeois and the youth also face additional charges for possession of a weapon and failing to comply with a probation order.
All three were held for a bail hearing in Greater Napanee today.
