Overview

• Fifty-five-year-old Yeon Soo Lee and his 26-year-old son Joo Hyup Lee face five trafficking-in-persons charges and are under investigation for money laundering
• RCMP allege the pair coerced four temporary foreign workers into up to 90-hour workweeks at a Calmar gas station and a Fox Creek motel without proper pay
• Investigators found the workers accrued more than $160,000 in unpaid wages and were charged inflated rent fees that deepened debt bondage
• The year-long probe began after a July 2024 tip from the Alberta Employment Standards Office and may expand as authorities assess additional potential victims
• RCMP say their trafficking unit handled 21 labour cases in 2024 and has reviewed seven so far this year, underscoring a focused effort to tackle migrant worker exploitation