Investigation leads to more arrests

Police have laid charges against two more men – one from Pictou County, the other from Dartmouth – in an ongoing investigation into human trafficking in the Halifax area.

The pair were arrested over the past week and appeared in Halifax provincial court earlier this week.

Shane Jason Mahar, 49, of Trenton faces two counts each of trafficking a person under the age of 18 and communicating for the purpose of obtaining sexual services from someone under 18 and one count of possession of child pornography.

Richard Walter Beaver, 33, of Dartmouth is charged with one count of trafficking a person under the age of 18.

Beaver was granted bail Tuesday, while Mahar is scheduled to have a bail hearing next week.

Halifax Regional Police announced the investigation May 2, saying they were contacted in January by someone reporting human trafficking was happening in the municipality.

Following a three-month investigation, police searched a residence in Halifax on April 28, arresting Adam Ray Greenlaw and seizing electronic devices.

Greenlaw, 40, is accused of trafficking and sexually abusing six girls and young women. He was facing 29 charges when he last appeared in court May 10, but a police news release Thursday said the number of charges against him has grown to 44.

The identities of the six alleged victims in the investigation are protected by a publication ban. Three of the complainants are under the age of 18, while two are 18 and one is 24.

Police allege the offences were committed between May 2021 and April of this year.

The charges against all three men are due back in court Monday.

Beaver’s bail order requires him to reside with his surety at an address on Waynewood Drive in Dartmouth and observe a 9 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew.

He cannot have contact with Greenlaw, Mahar and the six complainants or be within 50 metres of their homes, schools or workplaces or the Hotel Halifax on Barrington Street.

Beaver is also prohibited from having any firearms and communicating with or being around anyone under the age of 18 unless he’s in the “immediate physical presence” of his surety.

Greenlaw has not applied for bail. In February 2020, he was sentenced to two years in prison for sharing cocaine with a 15-year-old Lower Sackville girl a few hours before she committed suicide in June 2017.

He pleaded guilty in Nova Scotia Supreme Court to a charge of trafficking cocaine.

Greenlaw also has four convictions for breaching release conditions, two each for drug possession and theft under $5,000, and one for assault.

Thursday’s news release said police are committed to helping victims of human trafficking.

“Our priority is the safety of victims,” the release said. “Members of the human trafficking team will work with community partners to support victims, address their specific needs and get them to safety.

“Victims will be treated with dignity and respect and their safety will remain our primary goal. We want to assure victims that the decision to participate in the investigation is theirs and we will respect their wishes.”

They urged anyone who is a victim of human trafficking or knows someone who is a victim to reach out for support or share information by calling 911, contacting the team at 902-449-2425 or 902-490-5142, or submitting an anonymous tip to Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers.

You can also call 902-490-5020 to file a report and have an officer follow up with you.