(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)

A traffic cop in Kamloops noticed the signs of human trafficking when a Quebec man was stopped on Rogers Way on Monday.

Jean Francois D'Asti-Brideau, 26, was arrested "without incident," but only after the heavily armed emergency response team arrived to bring him into custody, according to Kamloops RCMP.

After his arrest on June 21, D'Asti-Brideau was taken to Winnipeg as he is part of an ongoing Manitoba RCMP investigation.

"This is the type of crime that is not always easy to see," Sgt. Morgan Page of Manitoba RCMP major crimes unit said in a news release issued today, June 23. "(An officer) was aware of what to look for and saw signs that this couple were not what they appeared to be and called us in. This was a great heads up move by that officer, and we were able to liaise with police agencies in other provinces to further this investigation."

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D'Asti-Brideau, originally of Laval, Quebec, was previously arrested in Manitoba in January 2021. At the time, police said he was "combative" and resisted arrest, later gave an incorrect name once he was in custody.

He was initially pulled over in a traffic stop involving an erratic driver and police found people in the vehicle had been fighting. The major crime unit took over the investigation once they found multiple weapons inside the vehicle, including a Taser.

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Manitoba RCMP did not say whether the original investigation was also related to human trafficking. Police did say, however, he D'Asti-Brideau was already wanted on several arrest warrants from both Quebec and Ontario at the time of the January 2021 arrest.

Now that he's been transferred to Winnipeg, D'Asti-Brideau is facing charges for human trafficking, possession of material benefitting from sexual services and procuring to provide sexual services, RCMP said.

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