Gruesome link to man who dissolved bodies

BONES and teeth of potential victims of drug trafficking gangs were found in Tijuana on land owned by a man who in 2009 confessed to disposing 300 bodies in vats of acid, officials have said.

Forensic specialists found 35 bone fragments and 20 teeth while searching property owned by Jose Santiago Meza, according to the state prosecutor in Tijuana, a city that borders the US state of California.

After being arrested in January 2009, Meza revealed that he dumped 300 bodies in vats of acid over the past decade to dispose of their remains for a drug trafficking cartel. He had said he was paid $600 a week.

The Human Rights Commission said more than 5,000 people have been reported missing in Mexico since 2006 and many are presumed to be victims of drug violence.

The remains will be compared with missing people’s DNA samples.