KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Three people from Three Rivers have been charged with human trafficking a 33-year-year woman from India under the auspices of marriage.
At a press conference at the YWCA Kalamazoo Tuesday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, alongside members of the Department of Attorney General, representatives of the Three Rivers Police Department, and officials from the federal Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), announced charges against 40-year-old Ikbahl Singh Machhal, 67-year-old Kartar Chand, and 66-year-old Shila Devi, 66, all of Three Rivers. Each are charged with one count of Human Trafficking – Forced Labor and one count of Human Trafficking Enterprise. Each count is a 10-year felony.
The Attorney General’s office says the defendants allegedly began trafficking the victim in 2012 when the family forcibly moved her from Pennsylvania to Michigan when her husband, Machhal, and in-laws, Chand and Devi, came to own the Broadway Market in Three Rivers.
They say shortly after arriving in Michigan, the victim began working at the convenience store, allegedly never receiving payment for her labor. The defendants are accused of requiring the victim to work eight to nine hours a day, seven days a week, against her will and under threat of severe physical, mental, and emotional abuse.
Authorities allege this continued for approximately eight years until the victim was able to leave her home with the assistance of the YWCA Kalamazoo and local law enforcement in October 2020 following domestic violence charges against her husband.
Three Rivers Police Officer Matt Kilbourn reportedly uncovered the scheme after he identified signs of labor trafficking during a hospital visit with the victim after suspected domestic violence.
“There is a community here at YWCA Kalamazoo and beyond to support labor trafficking survivors, on survivors’ terms,” said Susan Rosas, CEO of YWCA Kalamazoo. “A just movement requires community partnership from YWCA’s advocacy, housing, legal services, and therapy teams, law enforcement, and a network of dedicated service providers. For survivors who wish to seek justice, this landmark case sends a loud message that justice is indeed possible in Michigan.”
Machhal and Devi were arraigned in the 3B District Court in St. Joseph County following their arrest by law enforcement officers from Three Rivers Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations Monday, April 29. They were each granted bond in the amount of $1 million and, should they make bond, their passports will be confiscated by the Court. They will next appear in the 3B District Court May 14 for a probable cause conference.
Chand has been charged but not arrested, having fled to India.
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