Two Men Allegedly Linked to MS-13 Charged in Southern Ontario Human Trafficking Case

Carlos Gutierrez, 30, of Toronto, (left) and Marcos Ariel Marinoni, 42, of Mississauga, are facing several human trafficking related charges in connection with an investigation by the Peel Regional Police near Toronto. Police handout photo

Two suspected members of the transnational criminal organization MS-13 are facing human trafficking charges after police allege they trafficked and sexually exploited a victim across the Greater Toronto Area.

The charges come as a result of a months-long investigation by Peel Regional Police known as Project Mermaid.

The probe began last November when one of the suspects, who is currently serving a lengthy sentence at a Kingston, Ont., prison, allegedly used an “unauthorized” cellphone to contact his co-defendant and the victim, police said in a press release.

Police did not say how the prisoner accessed the mobile device and Correctional Services Canada (CSC) said in an email that “unauthorized items—such as drugs and cellphones—are routinely seized by staff.”

Officers executed four search warrants in the Mississauga and Collingwood areas in connection with Project Mermaid and laid charges against two men.

“Investigators allege the two men used intimidation, manipulation, and threats of violence to control the victim while financially benefiting from her exploitation,” police said.

Thirty-year-old Toronto resident Carlos Gutierrez, who is currently serving a sentence for attempted murder, was charged with trafficking in persons, receiving benefits resulting from trafficking in persons, and advertising sexual services, communicating for the purpose of obtaining sexual services, material benefit from sexual services, and exercising control, direction or influence.

Mississauga resident Marcos Ariel Marinoni, 42, faces the same charges, as well as assault with a weapon, withholding or destroying documents for the purposes of trafficking in persons, and two firearm-related charges.

Both men remain in custody, police said.

Investigators suspect that there could be more victims who have not yet stepped forward. They are asking anyone with information about human trafficking to contact the authorities.

Previous Charges

Gutierrez was charged by York Regional Police several months after a 65-year-old man was shot in Schomberg, Ont., while walking his dog in February 2023. The victim was taken to hospital with critical injuries, but survived. Police later determined the shooting to be a case of mistaken identity.

Police arrested three suspects in June of the same year. Gutierrez, who was 27 at the time, 34-year-old Carlos Pena Torrez, and 30-year-old Kenny Banchon Urbina. All three were charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Gutierrez and his co-accused pleaded guilty to the attempted murder charge last year and Correctional Service Canada has confirmed Gutierrez is currently serving a sentence of nearly 16 years for the crime.

The plea allowed Gutierrez to avoid a trial and organized crime charges due to his alleged affiliation with MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, a highly violent crime group that has evolved since it was formed as a street gang in Los Angeles in the 1980s by immigrants from El Salvador.

MS-13 is designated as a terrorist organization in Canada because of its widespread, targeted killings of law enforcement and other state officials in its home country.

The group, which is also known for drug trafficking, extortion, and human smuggling, operates across North and Central America and Europe.