Woman accused of trafficking housekeeper showed ‘pattern of deception’: Crown

VANCOUVER – A Crown prosecutor says a wealthy Vancouver-area woman accused of trafficking a young African woman to Canada to be an unpaid housekeeper displayed a “pattern of deception.”

Mumtaz Ladha is on trial for human trafficking over allegations she brought the woman her West Vancouver home in August 2008 and forced her to work long hours as a housekeeper with no pay.

Crown lawyer Peter LaPrairie alleges Ladha provided false information when she filled out the young woman’s initial travel visa and then lied again when she applied to extend the woman’s travel visa five months later.

LaPrairie notes various application forms describe the woman, who can’t be named, as Ladha’s longtime personal assistant and caregiver, even though the woman was working as a cleaner in Ladha’s salon in Tanzania.

In January 2009, LaPrairie says Ladha filled out an application to extend the woman’s travel visa for six months, writing on the form that she needed continued help with a medical condition, even though Ladha planned to spent the next several months in Africa.

LaPrairie says it’s the same pattern of deception Ladha showed when she first convinced the young woman to come to Vancouver by promising her a job at a hair salon that didn’t exist.