OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 7, 2012) - The Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety, and the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism today issued the following statement following an announcement by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) that nine additional individuals were arrested as part of the RCMP-led Project "OPAPA" investigation into human trafficking. With these latest arrests, a total of 29 individuals have been arrested.

"We congratulate the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) on these important arrests. Human trafficking is a despicable crime that preys on the most vulnerable. The nine individuals recently arrested are believed to have played an important role in the largest human trafficking case in Canadian history.

Our Government recently launched the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking - a comprehensive blueprint to guide our fight against this horrible crime. Canada's National Action Plan reflects the Government's on-going commitment to strengthened partnerships and collaboration to prevent and combat the crime of human trafficking."

For more information on this case, visit: http://www.rcmp.gc.ca/on/news-nouvelles/2012/12-09-07-hamilton-eng.htm

To view the National Action Plan online, please go to: http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/le/ht-tp-eng.aspx

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