The Mexican Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) has secured a court order to indict five individuals for their alleged participation in an organized crime network dedicated to human trafficking.

Among those charged is Erik Gutiérrez, the former head of the Operational Unit of the Tourist Police Directorate in Benito Juárez, Quintana Roo. He is joined by four other suspects: Jumilca Sandivel (alias “N”), Reyna Manuela (alias “N”), Eva (alias “N”), and Ernesto (alias “N”).

According to an investigation by the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (FEMDO) launched in 2025, the group allegedly operated a human trafficking network with a wide geographical reach. The operations were reportedly centered in Chiapas, near the Mexican-Guatemalan border, and extended toward Chihuahua and the United States border.

The FGR, in coordination with the Mexican Navy (Marina) and the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), executed search warrants on three properties in Chiapas and Quintana Roo. During these operations, authorities apprehended the five suspects and seized a variety of evidence, including a long gun, eight usable cartridges, passports, identification cards, credit cards, and cash.

During a preliminary hearing, the court ruled that the arrests were legal and, based on the evidence presented by the Federal Public Ministry, ordered the defendants to be linked to the process.

The suspects will remain in pre-trial detention; the men have been held at CERESO No. 3 and the women at the female prison CERESO No. 2, both located in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. The judge has granted a three-month period for a complementary investigation. The court noted that all defendants remain presumed innocent until a final conviction is reached.