Miguel ‘Timido’ Angel Lopez-Abrego, 19, a citizen of El Salvador, was arrested in North Carolina recently

Authorities in Maryland say on Wednesday that as many as 10 members of the notorious MS-13 gang lured a man into a park, stabbed him over 100 times, decapitated him, removed his heart from his chest, and then threw it into a grave dug ahead of time along with the body.

The grisly attack was allegedly planned two weeks in advance.

One of the attack’s alleged participants, Miguel ‘Timido’ Angel Lopez-Abrego, 19, was arrested in North Carolina recently, according to The Washington Post.

Lopez-Abrego, a citizen of El Salvador who is in the United States illegally, made his first court appearance in Montgomery County on Wednesday. He was denied bond.

Authorities allege that the gang members had been planning the killing for two weeks.

The victim, whose identity has yet to be confirmed, was stabbed, decapitated, dismembered, and had ‘his heart had been excised from his chest and thrown into the grave,’ police say.

The gang members allegedly lured the victim, a Hispanic man believed to be from Annapolis, to the area using walkie-talkie radios to communicate.

Authorities in Maryland say Lopez-Abrego is one of as many as 10 members of the notorious MS-13 gang who lured a man into a park, stabbed him over 100 times, decapitated him, removed his heart from his chest, and then threw it into a grave dug ahead of time. The victim's sweatshirt is seen above

Investigators believe that the killing took place sometime in ‘early spring’ of this year.

The official cause of death was ‘sharp force injuries,’ according to the autopsy.

Police first learned of the killing in early September, when an informant told detectives about it.

The informant told police about the specially dug grave in Wheaton Regional Park.

Police said that on the day of the murder, one of the gang members ‘waited near the edge of the wood line with a handheld, walkie-talkie radio to alert’ other gang members when the victim arrived.

Investigators believe Lopez-Abrego was the first attacker to stab the victim in the chest with a 15-inch knife.

Police first learned of the killing in early September, when an informant told detectives about it. The informant told police about the specially dug grave in Wheaton Regional Park (seen above)

Police also released a photo of blue shorts that the victim was wearing at the time in hopes of getting clues to his identity

Court documents do not specify what motive the alleged killers had to commit the crime.

Police said that patrol officers in Montgomery County pulled over a vehicle in which Lopez-Abrego was the passenger in late September.

Lopez-Abrego denied any involvement in the man’s death, according to court records.

Police then tried to track down Lopez-Abrego after that initial interview, but were unable to do so until November 4.

That was when he and two other alleged MS-13 gang members from the Washington, DC area were found in North Carolina.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released a statement addressing Lopez-Abrego’s legal status in the country.

‘Miguel Angel Lopez-Abrego, a citizen and national of El Salvador, is illegally in the US and currently in immigration proceedings.

‘On November 4, ICE lodged a detainer on Mr. Lopez-Abrego with the Avery County Sheriff’s Department in North Carolina after his arrest by local authorities.’

Police circulated photos of a gray sweatshirt that the victim was wearing when he was killed. The shirt read ‘First United Methodist Church Laurel’ on the upper left side

A rosary or necklace was also found on the victim’s body, investigators said

Police circulated photos of a gray sweatshirt that the victim was wearing when he was killed.

The shirt read ‘First United Methodist Church Laurel’ on the upper left side.

A rosary or necklace was also found on the victim’s body, investigators said.

Police also released a photo of blue shorts that the victim was wearing at the time in hopes of getting clues to his identity.

The MS-13 gang, which has roots in El Salvador, is notorious for its links to cartels and organized crime, and its ability to access high-powered weapons.

Because of unrest in Central America, many of the original gang members had guerrilla warfare experience, making them more deadly than other criminal groups.

MS-13 is a 'transnational criminal organization' engaged in such crimes as drug trafficking, kidnapping, human smuggling, prostitution, murder and extortion.

There are at least 30,000 MS-13 members in a range of countries, including 8,000 in the United States.

Because the gang members are under the age of 18, the U.S. is unable to lawfully return them to their home countries.

MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha gang, which is allied with several of Mexico's warring drug cartels, has a strong presence in Southern California, Washington and Northern Virginia, all areas with substantial Salvadoran populations.