The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, says it has dismantled another industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State and arrested a Mexican national identified as a suspected key figure in a transnational drug syndicate operating in Nigeria.
The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Marwa (rtd), disclosed the development in Lagos on Tuesday, describing the operation as the latest breakthrough in a months-long intelligence and forensic investigation into an international network allegedly behind a string of clandestine drug laboratories across the country.
Marwa, represented at the briefing by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the arrests and laboratory seizures demonstrated the agency’s determination to prevent international drug cartels from turning Nigeria into a production hub.
The investigation began to yield major leads after NDLEA operatives arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun State on May 16, 2026.
A month later, on June 17, another Mexican national and four Nigerians were arrested at a methamphetamine laboratory concealed in a forested location in Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
According to the NDLEA, further investigation into the Oyo operation revealed that the 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine expert arrested at the site had allegedly been recruited into Nigeria by another Mexican national believed to be a senior figure in the syndicate.
Working with international partners, investigators obtained a photograph of the alleged recruiter. The arrested suspect reportedly identified the man as the person who brought him into Nigeria.
Intelligence gathered by the agency subsequently indicated that the suspect, identified as Arturo Carrera Loaiza, entered Nigeria on June 10 alongside another Mexican national.
He was eventually arrested by NDLEA operatives on August 19 at the Lagos airport while allegedly attempting to leave the country.
During interrogation, Carrera Loaiza reportedly told investigators that he had been invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian contact known only as Henry for a restaurant business venture. He also denied knowledge of methamphetamine production or any involvement in the laboratory uncovered in Oyo State.
Investigators, however, said they uncovered photographs showing Carrera Loaiza dressed in a blue laboratory coat and standing among equipment believed to be associated with methamphetamine production.
Analysis of location data attached to the photographs reportedly led investigators to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State.
NDLEA operatives moved on the property on August 30, where interviews with a site engineer and caretaker allegedly revealed the construction of a suspicious temporary structure around the septic tank area. Officers also reportedly detected strong chemical odours around the premises.
A CCTV memory card recovered from the property provided another crucial lead.
According to the NDLEA, forensic analysis of the footage showed a foreign national in a blue laboratory coat who matched Carrera Loaiza, alongside repeated appearances by John Samuel Ivo Okike.
The footage allegedly captured the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment from the property at about 9 p.m. on August 21, with Okike reportedly directing the operation while others assisted in moving the materials.
Further intelligence led investigators to an isolated house in a neighbouring community, where the relocated materials were allegedly being stored by a man identified as Nwanja Obasi.
A subsequent raid resulted in the recovery of a substantial quantity of chemicals, equipment and laboratory paraphernalia linked by investigators to methamphetamine production.
Among the items recovered, according to the NDLEA, were dehydrators containing traces of methamphetamine, 442.8 kilogrammes of acetone, 37.1 kilogrammes of toluene, a 20-kilogramme acetone-bromobenzene mixture, 1.7 kilogrammes of ethanol, 5.1 kilogrammes of chloride salt, 31.5 kilogrammes of hydrochloric acid, 200 kilogrammes of P2B and one kilogramme of tartaric acid.
The agency also recovered condensers, a condenser head, a fabricated reaction pot, an access pump, weighing scales, mixers, drums, gas burners, gloves and a blue laboratory coat similar to the one seen in the photographs.
The NDLEA says the combination of CCTV footage, forensic analysis, witness accounts and recovered materials has strengthened its investigation into the suspected network, with efforts continuing to determine the full structure of the syndicate and identify additional financiers and collaborators.
Marwa warned that Nigeria would not provide safe haven for transnational drug cartels seeking to relocate production operations into the country’s forests and rural communities.
He said the coordinated operations in Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi States demonstrated the growing capacity of the NDLEA’s intelligence, investigative and forensic units to track sophisticated international drug networks.
The NDLEA chairman commended personnel from the Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics and the agency’s commands in Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi for their professionalism, while assuring that investigators would continue to pursue every lead until all those allegedly involved in the network are identified and brought to justice.
The agency has also appealed to residents, particularly those in rural and forest communities, to report suspicious activities, unfamiliar structures and unusual chemical odours that could indicate clandestine drug production.
Reports can be made through the NDLEA toll-free line, 080010203040, or via email at info@ndlea.gov.ng.
