Alberta police have arrested a Quebec man on numerous charges related to human trafficking.

Xavier Godbout, 22, was arrested by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) human trafficking unit on October 24, with the assistance of Calgary police. He was also wanted on warrants from Quebec.

Police say Godbout met two women on social media and recruited them to travel to Calgary under the guise of working there.

When they arrived, he allegedly tried to force them to work in the sex trade. According to police, one of the victims resisted and was punched several times and had a gun pointed at his head.

Both women were able to contact police and received help.

Godbout is in police custody and faces numerous charges, including:

• Attempted human trafficking;
• Purchases ;
• Advertising for sexual services;
• Extortion;
• Serious assault with a firearm;
• Use of a firearm during a criminal act;
• Negligent storage of a firearm;
• Pointing a gun; And
• Several firearms-related offenses.

“The safety of the victims was our greatest concern. Upon receipt of information from our colleagues in Quebec, our unit took action to bring these two women to safety and arrest them,” said Staff Sgt. Gordon MacDonald with ALERT.

Godbout is prohibited from using a firearm and was also wanted on two warrants, one for an assault with a weapon that occurred in April 2022 and another for failure to comply with a probation order in October 2022 .

ALERT encourages any additional victims to come forward and speak to police.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact local police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.