The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a Mexican drug kingpin attempting to flee Nigeria through the Lagos airport and dismantled another industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State.
The NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), disclosed this 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 transnational network allegedly behind clandestine drug laboratories discovered in different parts of the country.
The latest operation followed the arrest of Mexican nationals and their Nigerian collaborators at illegal methamphetamine laboratories in Ogun and Oyo states earlier in the year.
According to the NDLEA, three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators were arrested at a forest hideout in Ogun State on May 16, while another Mexican national, 56-year-old methamphetamine expert, Jose Villa Ochoa, was arrested alongside four Nigerian collaborators at a clandestine laboratory in Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State, on June 17.
Investigations into the Oyo operation reportedly established that Ochoa had been recruited into Nigeria by another Mexican national identified as Arturo Carrera Loaiza.
The agency said intelligence gathered with the assistance of international partners enabled investigators to obtain Loaiza’s photograph, which Ochoa positively identified as that of the man who recruited and brought him into Nigeria.
The NDLEA further stated that Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10 alongside another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.
On August 19, operatives reportedly arrested Loaiza while he was attempting to leave the country through the Lagos airport.
During interrogation, the suspect allegedly claimed that a Nigerian contact identified only as “Henry” had invited him to Nigeria for a restaurant business venture. He also reportedly denied knowledge of methamphetamine production or involvement in the Oyo laboratory.
However, investigators allegedly recovered photographs showing Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing among equipment believed to be associated with methamphetamine production.
Analysis of location metadata from the photographs reportedly led investigators to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State.
The NDLEA said operatives raided the property on August 30 and discovered evidence suggesting that a clandestine laboratory had been operating there.
Interviews with a site engineer and caretaker allegedly revealed the construction of a suspicious temporary structure over the septic tank area, as well as persistent strong chemical odours from the premises.
A CCTV memory card recovered from the property reportedly provided further evidence. According to the agency, forensic analysis showed a foreign national wearing a blue laboratory coat, allegedly matching Loaiza, as well as repeated appearances by John Samuel Ivo Okike.
The footage also allegedly captured the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment from the property at about 9pm on August 21, with Okike reportedly directing the operation.
Acting on additional intelligence, NDLEA operatives traced the relocated materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community, reportedly under the custody of one Nwanja Obasi.
A subsequent raid led to the recovery of a large quantity of chemicals, equipment and other materials allegedly linked to methamphetamine production.
The agency listed the recovered items as including a dehydrator containing a white cloth sieve embedded with loose methamphetamine, three additional 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.
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Other items recovered included condensing units, a condenser head, a condenser, a fabricated reaction pot, an access pump, weighing scales, mixers, drums, gas burners, gloves and a blue laboratory coat.
The NDLEA said the recovery, combined with CCTV footage, forensic findings and eyewitness accounts, had strengthened the case against those allegedly connected to the network.
Marwa warned that Nigeria would not be allowed to become a base for international drug cartels seeking to establish laboratories in the country.
He commended personnel of the agency’s Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics Unit and the Oyo, Ogun and Ebonyi State Commands for their roles in the operations.
The NDLEA boss also vowed that investigations would continue until the wider network, including financiers and local collaborators, was brought to justice.
The agency urged residents, particularly those living in rural and forested communities, to report suspicious activities, unusual chemical odours and unfamiliar structures to the NDLEA through its toll-free line, 080010203040, or email, info@ndlea.gov.ng.
