The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled another industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State and arrested a Mexican drug kingpin, Arturo Carrera Loaiza, who was attempting to flee Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
Briefing the media on the latest development in Lagos on Tuesday, 15th September 2026, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) said the breakthrough follows months of painstaking investigation into a wider criminal network behind a string of clandestine drug laboratories uncovered in parts of the country this year.
Marwa, who was represented by the Agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, recalled that operatives had earlier this year arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun State on Saturday, 16th May 2026, and, on 17th June, arrested another Mexican national alongside four Nigerian collaborators at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory hidden in a forested part of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State, where field tests confirmed large quantities of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals.
Investigations by the Agency’s Special Operations Unit (SOU) into the Oyo State arrest led operatives to establish that the 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine expert, Jose Villa Ochoa, arrested at the forest lab had been recruited into Nigeria by Loaiza.
Working with international partners, NDLEA investigators obtained a photograph of Loaiza, which the arrested suspect positively identified as the man who recruited and moved him into Nigeria. Intelligence further showed that Loaiza entered Nigeria on 10th June 2026, alongside another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.
During interrogation, he allegedly claimed that a Nigerian identified only as “Henry” had invited him to Nigeria under the guise of a restaurant business venture and denied knowledge of methamphetamine production.
However, the NDLEA said investigators recovered photographs showing Loaiza dressed in a blue laboratory coat and standing beside equipment consistent with methamphetamine production.
Analysis of location data from the photographs allegedly led investigators to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State.
The agency said a search of the property on August 30 uncovered evidence of a clandestine operation, while CCTV footage showed a foreign national resembling Loaiza at the site and repeatedly captured John Samuel Ivo Okike.
The footage also allegedly showed chemicals and laboratory equipment being moved from the property on the night of August 21, with Okike seen directing the operation.
Acting on further intelligence, NDLEA operatives traced the relocated materials to an isolated house in a neighboring community allegedly under the custody of Nwanja Obasi.
The raid led to the recovery of methamphetamine-related chemicals, laboratory equipment and other paraphernalia, including a dehydrator containing a white cloth sieve embedded with loose methamphetamine.
The agency also recovered hundreds of kilogrammes of chemicals, including acetone, toluene, P2B, and hydrochloric acid, as well as condensers, a fabricated reaction pot, pumps, weighing scales, mixers, drums, and gas burners.
Marwa warned that Nigeria would not become a base for international drug cartels seeking to establish laboratories in 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 the Ogun and Oyo operations, demonstrated the agency’s intelligence and forensic capabilities.
Marwa commended personnel of the Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics, and the Oyo, Ogun, and Ebonyi State Commands for their roles in the operations.
He also vowed that the agency would continue pursuing the network, its financiers, and local collaborators.
The NDLEA urged residents, particularly those in rural and forested communities, to report suspicious activities, unusual chemical odours, and unfamiliar structures through its toll-free line, 080010203040, or by email at info@ndlea.gov.ng.
Packaged by Lanre Olabisi
