A CARTEL gangster who dissolved hundreds of people in vats of acid is set to be FREED from prison after just 10 years.

       Santiago Meza Lopez — aka El Pozolero or The Stewmaker — confessed to helping the Sinaloa Cartel dissolve countless dead bodies in acid in order to make them disappear.

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       The gangster spent years dissolving bodies at the Chicken Coop 4

       Thousands of fragments of bone — believed to be The Stewmaker's leftovers — have been uncovered by cops

       The Stewmaker was first captured in 2009, and was sentenced to a decade in prison in 2012.

       But he is set to be released this year.

       Hundreds of people disappear every year because of drug cartel-related violence in Mexico.

       It is thought Lopez used barrels of acid to dissolve thousands of people for the Sinaloa Cartel.

       He was known to work across at least 10 locations in Tijuana, Mexico, most notably the Chicken Coop farm near the US border.

       The gangster spent years dissolving bodies, and at some point even constructed a drainage system where he could dispose of the waste.

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       Thousands of fragments of bone — believed to be The Stewmaker's leftovers — have been uncovered by cops.

       Since 2012, at least 16,500 litres of organic sludge and up to 200kg of waste have been recovered from the Chicken Coop.

       Experts estimate there could be the remains of up to 650 people in the mass graves around the site.

       Fernando Ocegueda Flores, founder of the United Association for the Disappeared of Baja California, told Borderland Beat: "This is very sad news for many families angered by the things he did.

       "But it is the law and the law must be followed. So, even if we don't like it, he will be released, he will be able to move freely in society once again.

       "Let’s hope that while he was confined he returned to the path of good."

       Court documents reveal Lopez was chosen for the job while working on a farm in 1996.

       Senior members of the cartel asked him to carry out an “experiment” with water and acid in a barrel.

       They dropped a leg of meat into the solution and let it sit for two hours where it dissolved.

       Lopez claims he was forced to work for the cartel.

       Families of suspected victims have been urging the authorities to identity the remains at the site.

       Fernando Ocegueda Flores, who helps families seek justice, has called for action.

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       Lopez claims he was forced to work for the Sinaloa Cartel 4

       At least 16,500 litres of organic sludge and up to 200kg of waste have been recovered from the site near the US border We pay for your stories!

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