Mexican authorities say a for-profit crematorium in Ciudad Juárez accumulated 386 embalmed corpses instead of incinerating them, in what prosecutors describe as one of the country’s worst cases of funeral fraud. Police entered Crematorio Plenitud on 27 June after neighbours reported a stench and initially found about 60 bodies; subsequent inspections raised the tally to 386, including two newborns and two other minors. Some of the remains had been stored for up to five years. The Chihuahua state prosecutor’s office said the business, which held valid operating permits, had not used its inoperative furnace for at least two years yet continued charging funeral homes for cremations. Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch later revealed that bereaved families were handed containers filled with stones or animal ashes. The crematorium served at least five local parlours, all now under investigation, while federal health regulators examine possible licensing lapses. Owner José Luis A.C. and employee Facundo M.R. were arrested and placed in pre-trial detention on charges of illegal inhumation, exhumation and offences against human dignity, crimes that carry penalties of up to 17 years. Prosecutors are also assessing whether public officials failed in oversight duties. Forensic teams have transferred the bodies to refrigerated facilities and begun rehydrating 181 corpses to recover fingerprints. Fifteen victims have been preliminarily identified and six have been formally returned to relatives, but more than 700 families have queued at the state morgue seeking DNA tests amid fears they received fraudulent ashes. The UN human-rights office has urged Mexican authorities to guarantee a transparent inquiry and prompt identification of all victims, underscoring chronic strains on the country’s forensic system.
⚰📍 La Fiscalía de Chihuahua informó que ya fueron entregados seis de los 386 cuerpos hallados en el crematorio Plenitud, ubicado en Ciudad Juárez. Cinco fueron incinerados por decisión de sus familias y uno fue sepultado. Continúan las labores forenses para identificar más https://t.co/dBXvGW4zYv
Después de que en un crematorio de Ciudad Juárez, autoridades confirmaron el hallazgo de 383 cuerpos ocultos y sin cremar. Ya fueron entregados los primeros 6 cuerpos https://t.co/el58nWxPBR
🚨#Chihuahua | La Fiscalía estatal informó que se han localizado 386 cuerpos en el crematorio Plenitud de Ciudad Juárez. La dependencia señaló que el dueño del recinto y un trabajador fueron vinculados a proceso.https://t.co/VRbT7XxXoX