Guatemalan drug kingpin Marvin Montiel Marín is sentenced to over eight centuries worth of imprisonment for killing foreign passengers on a bus in 2008, and setting their remains on fire.

According to Spanish-language news outlet El Periodico, Presiding Judge Pablo Xitumul handed down the sentence to six drug traffickers involved in the incident.

Based on a report from Tico Times, Marín was among the group who blocked and hijacked the south-bound bus that entered Guatemala from Nicaragua because they believed the vehicle carried cocaine.

After not finding what they are looking for onboard, they decided to shoot and kill all 16 passengers to remove all possible witnesses to the encounter.

The victims -- a Dutch citizen and 15 Nicaraguans -- were all burned and hidden from authorities after being killed.

More popularly known for his alias "El Taquero," Marín reportedly owned the estate located about 125 miles from the border with El Salvador where the remains of the victims were found.

Because of this, he was given another eight years jail time added to the 50 for each of the killings and 12 for drug trafficking, landing him a total of 820 years of imprisonment.

According to Persona de Interes, Marvin Montiel Marín was first arrested in 2003 in Costa Rica for association and drug transaction with Jimmy Man Cheng, and three other members of a drug gang, operating in Pococí, Limón.

However, Marín was acquitted by an appeals court in May 2005, and pursued his illegal activities.

When news about the hijacked and burnt bus broke, the United Nations-supported Comisión Internacional contra la Corrupción en Guatemala (CICIG) took part in the investigation.

During the probe, former law enforcer Sandro Ramos Vanegas, who took part in the crime, testified and pointed to Marín's estate in Rio Hondo where authorities found the missing burnt bodies of the victims.

This made the case against the drug kingpin strong, leading to his conviction.

Aside from the Guatemalan drug lord, three other suspects were sentenced to as much as 828 years in prison, while Marín's wife, Sara Cruz, was given eight years for criminal association.

While Marín was handed an eight-century imprisonment sentence, Guatemalan law states that a convict can only be required to serve a maximum of 50 years in jail, making the judge's decision a mere symbolic act than an actual and realistic punishment.

According to TelSUR, he was also fined $130,500 for killing eight of the 16 passengers onboard the bus.