A Vancouver Police Department investigation into a 2019 human trafficking file has led to the conviction of two men.

Investigators from VPD’s Counter Exploitation Unit launched an extensive investigation in 2019 after becoming aware underage girls were recruited and trafficked for several months.

In 2021, Meaz Nour-Eldin, Elkan Vyizigiro, and a third person – a young offender at the time – were charged with trafficking a person under the age of 18 years and receiving a material benefit resulting from trafficking in a person under 18 years. The young offender pled guilty and was sentenced on March 23, 2023, to one year probation for receiving material benefit from trafficking in a person under 18 years.

Nour-Eldin was sentenced on December 21, 2023, to one count of trafficking a person under the age of 18 years and received a six-year sentence. Vyizigiro remains in custody and is awaiting sentencing.

“We recognize the courage of the victim to come forward and the role that support services have played in navigating this continuing court process,” said Constable Tania Visintin on Friday. “We encourage anyone who has been or is a victim of human trafficking to call 9-1-1.”

For more information and resources on trafficking, visit https://vpd.ca/stop-sex-trafficking/.