… Arrests Mexican, Four Nigerians

By Kingsley Omonobi

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered and dismantled a fortified industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory hidden in a forest in Tapa Village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State, arresting a Mexican national and four Nigerian collaborators linked to an international drug cartel.

The agency said the operation dealt a major blow to transnational drug syndicates seeking to establish synthetic drug manufacturing bases in Southwest Nigeria.

The discovery comes barely four weeks after NDLEA operatives dismantled another large methamphetamine laboratory in a forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State.

Addressing journalists at the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), represented by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, commended the officers involved in the operation for their professionalism and courage.

According to him, tactical operatives raided the facility on June 17, 2026, following intelligence that led them to the clandestine laboratory concealed deep inside the forest.

Marwa described the facility as a sophisticated and highly organised operation run by a Nigerian-Mexican cartel.

During the raid, operatives arrested five suspected members of the syndicate, including 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine expert, Jose Villa Ochoa, who was allegedly recruited to provide technical expertise for large-scale drug production.

The four Nigerian suspects arrested are Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43.

“The arrest of a foreign cartel specialist on Nigerian soil underscores the transnational nature of this threat, but more importantly, it demonstrates the agency’s intelligence capability to track, intercept and neutralise such criminal networks,” Marwa said.

He disclosed that a specialised team from the agency’s Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring conducted a detailed examination of the facility on June 18, uncovering what he described as a factory-level methamphetamine production line.

Among the items recovered were large quantities of precursor chemicals and industrial materials used in methamphetamine production, including Phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), phenylacetic acid, sulphuric acid, caustic soda, tartaric acid, ethyl phenylacetate and other chemical substances.

The agency also recovered industrial processing equipment such as a reactor pot, mounted distillation units, fabricated mixers and condensers, as well as vegetable dehydrator machines used in the drying process.

Marwa said forensic tests carried out at the scene confirmed the presence of methamphetamine crystals, while samples taken from other substances tested positive for phenylacetic acid, a key precursor in meth production.

He noted that all exhibits had been safely evacuated, documented and preserved as evidence for prosecution.

According to the NDLEA boss, the illicit substances and equipment recovered are worth several billions of naira and could have produced millions of doses of synthetic drugs for local and international distribution.

He expressed concern over what he described as a growing attempt by drug cartels to transform the Southwest region into a hub for synthetic drug manufacturing.

“The proximity of this latest discovery to the Ogun State laboratory dismantled a few weeks ago reveals a desperate effort by drug barons to establish a synthetic drug manufacturing hub in the Southwest axis,” he said.

Marwa warned drug traffickers and manufacturers that Nigeria would not become a safe haven for their operations.

“We will find you in the cities, we will track you into the forests, and we will dismantle your infrastructure of death. They thought hiding in dense forests would shield them from the long arm of the law. They were wrong,” he declared.

He commended officers of the NDLEA Oyo State Command for their gallantry and dedication and thanked members of the public for providing credible intelligence that aided the operation.

Marwa urged Nigerians to continue supporting the agency’s efforts in combating drug trafficking and production across the country.

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