The long arm of the law has caught up with a former police officer-turned gang leader identified as Hugo Ernesto Osorio Chavez who has been nabbed after a mass grave containing up to 40 bodies of mostly women has been discovered at his house in El Salvador.
Reports say that the remains of at least 24 people have so far been recovered at the house of the former police officer in the municipality of Chalchuapa, northwest of the capital, San Salvador.
The main suspect Hugo Ernesto Osorio Chavez is one of at least 10 people facing charges, according to the office of the attorney general.
El Salvador officials confirmed in a statement that they were excavating graves discovered at the house of the former police officer that contained as many as 40 bodies, most of them believed to be women.
The former police officer was detained on May 8 as the main suspect in the murder of a woman and her daughter, after neighbours alerted the authorities.
Justice and Security Minister Gustavo Villatoro said DNA samples were being collected from area residents who had a missing relative to see if it matched with any of the bodies.
He added that the depth of the holes suggested more than one person had taken part in the burials, according to Sky News.
