The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled another industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State and arrested a Mexican national identified as a suspected kingpin behind a network of clandestine drug laboratories in Nigeria.
The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), disclosed the development on Tuesday while briefing journalists in Lagos.
Marwa, who was represented by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the latest operation followed months of investigation into a wider transnational network suspected of establishing illegal methamphetamine laboratories in forested and rural areas.
He said the investigation began with the arrest of three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest location in Ogun State on May 16.
A month later, on June 17, NDLEA operatives arrested another Mexican national, 56-year-old Jose Villa Ochoa, alongside four Nigerian collaborators at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in a forested area of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
According to Marwa, Ochoa identified Arturo Carrera Loaiza as the Mexican national who recruited him and brought him to Nigeria.
Intelligence gathered with the assistance of international partners reportedly established that Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10 with another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.
NDLEA operatives subsequently arrested Loaiza on August 19 while he was attempting to leave Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
The agency said Loaiza denied involvement in methamphetamine production and claimed he had been invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian contact known as “Henry” under the guise of a restaurant business.
Investigators, however, reportedly recovered photographs showing Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing among equipment associated with methamphetamine production.
Metadata from the photographs led investigators to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State.
A subsequent search of the property on August 30 uncovered evidence pointing to a suspected laboratory operation. Investigators also recovered CCTV footage allegedly showing Loaiza at the premises and Nigerian national John Samuel Ivo Okike.
The footage reportedly showed the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment from the property on August 21, with Okike allegedly directing the operation.
Following further intelligence, NDLEA operatives traced the relocated materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community, where they were allegedly kept by one Nwanja Obasi.
The raid resulted in the seizure of large quantities of chemicals and laboratory equipment, including 442.8kg of acetone, 37.1kg of toluene, 31.5kg of hydrochloric acid and other substances believed to be linked to methamphetamine production.
The agency also recovered dehydrators, condensers, reaction equipment, weighing scales, mixers, drums, gas burners and other laboratory paraphernalia. A dehydrator containing a white cloth sieve with loose methamphetamine was among the items recovered.
Marwa said the operation demonstrated the agency’s growing intelligence and forensic capabilities in dismantling sophisticated drug networks.
“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 warned that the agency would continue following every lead until the wider network, including its financiers and local collaborators, were brought to justice.
Marwa commended personnel of the NDLEA Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics and the Oyo, Ogun and Ebonyi commands for their role in the operations.
The agency urged residents, particularly those in rural and forest communities, to report suspicious activities, unusual chemical odours and unfamiliar structures to the NDLEA through its toll-free line or official email.
