By Nkechi Eze
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has raided an industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State, recovering large quantities of chemicals and laboratory equipment, while also arresting a Mexican drug kingpin attempting to flee Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
The operation is part of an extensive investigation into a transnational drug network suspected of establishing clandestine methamphetamine laboratories in forests and rural communities across Nigeria.
According to an official statement signed by the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on behalf of the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), the investigation followed earlier arrests of Mexican nationals and their Nigerian collaborators in Ogun and Oyo states.
The Agency said three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators were arrested at a forest hideout in Ogun State on May 16, 2026. On June 17, another Mexican national, 56-year-old Jose Villa Ochoa, was arrested alongside four Nigerian collaborators at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in the Tapa village area of Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Further investigation by the NDLEA Special Operations Unit (SOU) revealed that Ochoa had allegedly been recruited into Nigeria by Mexican methamphetamine expert Arturo Carrera Loaiza.
The Agency said Ochoa positively identified Loaiza’s photograph as that of the person who recruited and moved him into Nigeria, while intelligence gathered with the assistance of international partners showed that Loaiza entered the country on June 10, 2026, alongside another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.
NDLEA operatives subsequently tracked Loaiza and arrested him on August 19 while he was attempting to leave Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
During interrogation, Loaiza reportedly claimed he had been invited into Nigeria by a Nigerian contact identified only as “Henry” for a restaurant business venture. He also denied knowledge of methamphetamine production or involvement with the Tapa village laboratory.
However, the Agency said investigators recovered photographs showing Loaiza dressed in a blue laboratory coat and standing among equipment consistent with methamphetamine production.
Forensic 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 raided the property, which was linked to John Samuel Ivo Okike. Interviews with a site engineer and caretaker reportedly revealed the presence of a suspicious temporary structure over the septic tank area and persistent strong chemical odours around the premises.
A CCTV memory card recovered from the property further strengthened the investigation, according to the Agency. Forensic examination of the footage allegedly showed a foreign national wearing a blue laboratory coat matching Loaiza, alongside repeated appearances by Okike.
The footage also captured, at about 9 p.m. on August 21, the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment from the property, with Okike allegedly directing the relocation.
Acting on further intelligence, operatives traced the relocated materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community, where they were reportedly kept by Nwanja Obasi.
The subsequent raid led to the recovery of a large cache of methamphetamine-related chemicals and equipment, including 442.8kg of acetone, 37.1kg of toluene, 20kg of an 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.
The NDLEA also recovered dehydrators, condensing units, a condenser head, condenser, fabricated reaction pot, pumps, weighing scales, mixers, drums, gas burners and other laboratory paraphernalia. A blue laboratory coat similar to the one seen in the CCTV footage was also recovered.
Reacting to the operation, Marwa warned that Nigeria would not provide a safe haven for transnational drug cartels seeking to establish illicit laboratories in the country.
“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,” Marwa said.
He said the latest operation, coming after the arrests and laboratory discoveries in Ogun and Oyo states, demonstrated the ability of the NDLEA to penetrate sophisticated international drug networks.
“The Agency’s intelligence and forensic capabilities are more than a match for these syndicates, however sophisticated they may believe themselves to be,” he stated.
Marwa commended personnel of the Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics and the Oyo, Ogun and Ebonyi State Commands for their diligence and professionalism.
He assured that the Agency would continue to pursue every lead until the wider network, including its financiers and local collaborators, was brought to justice.
The NDLEA also urged residents, particularly those in rural and forested communities, to report suspicious activities, unusual chemical odours and unfamiliar structures that could be linked to illicit drug production.
