The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled another industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State and arrested a Mexican national described as a drug kingpin who was allegedly attempting to flee Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
The latest operation, according to the agency, has uncovered another layer of a transnational drug network allegedly attempting to establish clandestine methamphetamine laboratories in Nigerian forests and rural communities.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), disclosed the development while briefing journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
Marwa, who was represented by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the breakthrough followed months of investigation into a wider criminal network linked to several clandestine drug laboratories uncovered in different parts of the country.
He recalled that NDLEA operatives had, on May 16, 2026, arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun State.
A month later, on June 17, another Mexican national and four Nigerian collaborators were arrested at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory concealed in a forested area of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
According to the agency, large quantities of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals were recovered from the Oyo State laboratory.
Investigations by the NDLEA Special Operations Unit (SOU) subsequently established that the 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine expert, Jose Villa Ochoa, arrested at the Oyo laboratory, had allegedly been recruited into Nigeria by another Mexican national, Arturo Carrera Loaiza.
The agency said international collaboration enabled its investigators to obtain a photograph of Loaiza, which Ochoa positively identified as the man who allegedly recruited and brought him into Nigeria.
Intelligence gathered by the agency further indicated that Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10, 2026, alongside another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.
NDLEA operatives subsequently tracked Loaiza and arrested him on August 19, 2026, while he was allegedly attempting to leave the country through the Lagos airport.
During interrogation, Loaiza reportedly claimed that he had been invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian contact identified only as “Henry” under the guise of a restaurant business venture.
He allegedly denied having any knowledge of methamphetamine production or involvement with the laboratory in Tapa village.
However, the NDLEA said investigators uncovered evidence that contradicted his claims.
According to the agency, investigators recovered photographs showing Loaiza dressed in a blue laboratory coat and standing among equipment believed to be associated with methamphetamine production.
Analysis of location metadata embedded in the photographs reportedly led investigators to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State.
On August 30, NDLEA operatives reportedly raided the property, which the agency linked to John Samuel Ivo Okike.
Interviews with people found at the site, including a site engineer and caretaker, allegedly revealed the existence of a suspicious temporary structure erected over the septic tank area at the rear of the building.
They also reportedly told investigators about persistent strong chemical odours coming from the property.
A CCTV memory card recovered from the premises reportedly provided further evidence.
The NDLEA said forensic examination of the footage showed a foreign national wearing a blue laboratory coat on the property, allegedly matching the photograph of Loaiza earlier recovered by investigators.
The footage also reportedly showed repeated appearances by Okike.
More significantly, investigators said the CCTV footage captured the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment from the property at about 9:00 p.m. on August 21.
Okike was allegedly seen directing the movement while other individuals assisted in relocating the materials.
Acting on further intelligence from a confidential source, NDLEA operatives reportedly traced the relocated materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community allegedly placed under the custody of one Nwanja Obasi.
A subsequent raid on the location led to the recovery of a large quantity of chemicals, equipment and other items allegedly connected to methamphetamine production.
The NDLEA listed the recovered items as including a dehydrator containing a white cloth sieve with loose methamphetamine, three additional empty dehydrators, 442.8kg of acetone, 37.1kg of toluene, a 20kg acetone/bromobenzene mixture, 1.7kg of ethanol, 5.1kg of chloride salt, 31.5kg of hydrochloric acid, 200kg of P2B and 1kg of tartaric acid.
Other recovered equipment reportedly included condensing units, a condenser head, a condenser, a fabricated reaction pot, an access pump, weighing scales, mixers, drums, gas burners and gloves.
A blue laboratory coat allegedly matching the one seen in the photographs and CCTV footage was also recovered.
The NDLEA said the recovery, combined with the CCTV footage, forensic findings and eyewitness accounts, had strengthened its case against individuals allegedly connected to the network.
Marwa warned that Nigeria would not be allowed to become a base for international drug cartels seeking to relocate their operations into the country’s forests and rural communities.
“Let me be unequivocal, Nigeria will not be allowed to become a haven for transnational drug cartels seeking to relocate their laboratories from other jurisdictions into our forests and rural communities,” he said.
He added that the arrest of Loaiza and dismantling of the Ebonyi facility, coming after similar operations in Ogun and Oyo states, demonstrated the agency’s growing intelligence and forensic capabilities.
The NDLEA chairman commended officers of the Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics Unit and the Oyo, Ogun and Ebonyi State Commands for their professionalism and commitment during the operations.
He also vowed that the agency would continue to follow every lead until the wider network, including its alleged financiers and local collaborators, are brought to justice.
The NDLEA urged residents, particularly those living in rural and forested communities, to report suspicious activities, unusual chemical odours and unfamiliar structures to the agency.
Members of the public can contact the NDLEA through its toll-free line, 080010203040, or via its official email address, info@ndlea.gov.ng.
