A year-long RCMP investigation into human trafficking across Alberta has resulted in charges against an Edmonton father and son accused of exploiting immigrant workers at businesses in Calmar and Fox Creek. While police confirm that both the four alleged victims and the two suspects were “legally in Canada,” they refuse to say whether any were temporary foreign workers, permanent residents, or held other immigration statuses.

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The investigation, launched in July 2024, was triggered by tips to Alberta Employment Standards regarding questionable labour practices at a Calmar gas station and the Grizzly Motor Hotel in Fox Creek. What investigators uncovered was a pattern of alleged exploitation involving unpaid wages, excessive work hours, coercion, and the manipulation of vulnerable immigrants.

The Accused:

• Yeon Soo Lee, 55, of Edmonton:

  • 4 counts of trafficking in persons

  • 4 counts of material benefit from trafficking

  • 1 count of criminal harassment

• Joo Hyup Lee, 26, of Edmonton:

  • 1 count of trafficking in persons

  • 1 count of material benefit from trafficking

Both men have been released from custody and are scheduled to appear in Grande Prairie Provincial Court on August 11, 2025.

The Allegations:

According to the RCMP, workers were brought into a coercive employment scheme that included:

• Working up to 90 hours per week with no proper compensation

• Wages withheld or stolen through fraudulent deductions

• Passports and documentation controlled by employers

• Threats and harassment used to silence complaints

• Workers placed in rundown or overpriced employer-controlled housing

Cpl. Mathew Howell, media relations officer for Alberta RCMP, told Rebel News, “We are unable to comment with regards to the immigration status of those involved apart from stating that they were all in Canada legally.” When asked about systemic vulnerabilities, he acknowledged that “temporary workers or people on travel visas… are at higher risk of trusting the wrong people and becoming victims.”

The inter-agency investigation involved:

• RCMP’s Serious Crimes Branch

• Alberta Employment Standards

• Alberta Occupational Health and Safety

• Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)

• Financial crime units including FINTRAC and MLAFT

Search warrants executed on June 25, 2025 at Edmonton residences linked to the suspects resulted in the seizure of cash, records, and immigration-related documents.

Authorities recovered $160,000 in unpaid wages owed to the exploited workers. Alberta OHS issued $60,000 in fines to the operator of the Grizzly Motor Hotel and an additional $10,000 penalty to Yeon Soo Lee for obstructing investigators.

The RCMP declined to name the victims or confirm whether any of them were in Canada through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), even though the circumstances suggest potential abuse of that system.

RCMP say they handled 180 human trafficking files in 2024, including 21 labour trafficking cases. In the first six months of 2025 alone, 65 cases have already been opened — a sharp increase attributed in part to better coordination with employment and safety regulators.

RCMP Insp. Brent Meyer emphasized that “trafficking doesn’t always look like what people imagine — it’s often subtle, coercive control disguised as legal employment.”

Police believe there may be additional victims who have not come forward and are urging them to contact RCMP or Crime Stoppers.

While the RCMP insists that everyone involved was in Canada legally, their refusal to confirm immigration class raises doubts about the oversight in Canada’s foreign worker system and reveals the uncomfortable gap between what’s “legal” and what’s just.