By Brook Wagner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Medicine Hat News
A Calgary man faces eight human trafficking related charges following a six-month investigation led by Regina police.
Abdoulaye Gadjiko, 28, was arrested in Calgary on May 20, according to a Regina Police Service news release. He was scheduled to appear in Regina provincial court on Wednesday morning.
Police allege Gadjiko forced a woman into the sex trade and profited from the crime. The alleged offences took place in Regina and across Western Canada between December 2023 and November 2025.
The investigation, called Project Anchor, began in November when Regina police received a tip about a possible human trafficking situation.
Because the alleged crimes crossed provincial lines, investigators relied on partner agencies in both Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Officers from the Regina police vice unit worked alongside the Calgary Police Service and Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team human trafficking enforcement unit. During the probe, investigators searched four residences, one business and a vehicle in Calgary.
Gadjiko’s charges include human trafficking, material benefit resulting from trafficking, procuring, material benefit from sexual services, advertising sexual services, possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000 money laundering and failure to comply with conditions.
“Human Trafficking investigations are extremely complex, most often cross borders and require extensive collaboration between agencies,” deputy chief Laurel Marshall said in the release.
“First and foremost, it’s about ensuring victims are safe and helping them break from their traffickers. I am proud of the work being done by everyone involved in Project Anchor.”
ALERT, which also covers southern Alberta and the Medicine Hat region, says its human trafficking unit has laid 576 charges against suspected traffickers and supported 181 victims since 2020. Alberta human trafficking complaints rose from 37 in 2022 to 182 in 2024, according to Public Safety Canada.
