Two Mexicans, 4 Nigerian collaborators remanded in prison over Oyo forest meth lab

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has arraigned two Mexican nationals and four Nigerian collaborators before Justice Nkeonye Evelyn Maha at Federal High Court, Ibadan, over their involvement in the establishment and operation of a clandestine laboratory for the production of methamphetamine in Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.

‎One of the Mexicans, 56-year-old Jose Villa Ochoa, and four Nigerian collaborators, namely: Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43, were arrested on June 17, 2026 by NDLEA operatives in a forested area of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area, Oyo State, while the second Mexican, Carrera Loaiza Arturo, 40, was tracked down and arrested when attempting to flee the country through the Lagos airport on 19th August 2026.

‎‎The four-count charge filed by the NDLEA against the defendants disclosed that between December 2025 and June 2026, at various locations in Lagos and Oyo states, they conspired to operate a drug trafficking organisation and established a clandestine laboratory for the production of methamphetamine, a psychotropic substance.

‎The charge further accused them of unlawful engagement in the transportation and distribution of chemical substances for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine, a psychotropic substance contrary to section 20(1)(f) and punishable under section 20 (2)(a) of the NDLEA Act. When the charges were read to the defendants in the language they understood, all six pleaded not guilty.

After their pleas were taken, Justice Maha subsequently ordered that they be remanded at the Correctional Centre Ibadan, while the case was adjourned to January 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th, 2027 for trial.

Three other Mexican nationals and seven of their Nigerian collaborators arrested for a similar offence in an earlier operation at a forest hideout in Ogun State on Saturday 16th May 2026, have also been remanded in prison following their arraignment before a Federal High Court in Lagos, where the trial judge had rejected their bail application and instead ordered accelerated hearing of the case.

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