Two men allegedly associated with the notorious criminal organization MS-13 are facing charges after police say they trafficked and sexually exploited a victim throughout the Greater Toronto Area. In November 2025, police launched Project Mermaid after one of the suspects—who was serving a “lengthy sentence” at a Kingston, Ont., prison at the time—used an unauthorized cellphone to communicate with the victim and his co-accused. “Investigators allege the two men used intimidation, manipulation, and threats of violence to control the (female) victim while financially benefiting from her exploitation,” police said in a news release issued Wednesday. Investigators believe there may be additional victims who have not yet come forward. Police executed four search warrants in the Mississauga and Collingwood areas in connection with the investigation. As a result, 42-year-old Mississauga resident Marcos Ariel Marinoni and 30-year-old Toronto resident Carlos Gutierrez were both charged with trafficking in persons, receiving benefit resulting from trafficking in persons and advertising sexual services, along with several other charges. A spokesperson for Peel police told CTV News Toronto that Gutierrez is serving a 14-year sentence for attempted murder. Gutierrez was one of three suspects charged after a 65-year-old dog walker was shot at 13 times in February 2023 in a case of mistaken identity. Police said at the time that the suspects were hired by an organized crime group to kill a man in Schomberg, Ont. Both suspects remain in custody. MS-13, or La Mara Salvatrucha, was listed as a terrorist organization by the Canadian government in 2025.
