NDLEA nabs Mexican drug expert, four Nigerians, uncovers multibillion-naira Meth Lab. By Bimbo Adeniyi 

NDLEA nabs Mexican drug expert, four Nigerians, uncovers multibillion-naira Meth Lab.

By Bimbo Adeniyi 

In a major crackdown on organised drug trafficking, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered and shut down a secret methamphetamine production facility operated by a Nigerian-Mexican cartel in Tapa Village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.

The operation led to the arrest of five key members of the cartel, including a 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine expert, Jose Villa Ochoa, who was allegedly recruited to provide technical expertise for the large-scale production of the illicit drug.

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

They were said to be responsible for logistics, local operations and providing cover for the criminal enterprise.

Briefing journalists at the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the courage, dedication and professionalism of officers involved in the operation.

Represented by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Marwa disclosed that NDLEA tactical operatives raided the highly fortified clandestine laboratory on June 17, 2026, describing it as a sophisticated and well-organised transnational drug syndicate.

According to him, the arrest of a foreign cartel specialist on Nigerian soil highlights both the international dimension of the drug trade and the agency’s growing intelligence-gathering and enforcement capabilities.

“The arrest of a foreign cartel specialist on Nigerian soil underscores the transnational nature of this threat, but more importantly, it underscores our agency’s world-class intelligence capability to track, intercept and neutralise them,” he said.

Marwa explained that following the successful raid, a specialised team from the Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring conducted a comprehensive forensic examination of the facility on June 18 and uncovered what he described as a factory-level production line for methamphetamine.

He revealed that the laboratory was stocked with a large quantity of precursor chemicals, industrial catalysts and heavy-duty processing equipment used in the manufacture of synthetic drugs.

Among the chemicals recovered were Phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), a highly controlled precursor used in methamphetamine synthesis, as well as 1,800-litre drums containing Phenylacetic acid, the primary ingredient used in the production of P2P.

Other exhibits recovered from the site included two 180-litre drums containing approximately 300 litres of whitish crystalline substance and four 180-litre drums containing dark liquid substances undergoing chemical synthesis.

The agency also recovered industrial processing equipment, including a reactor pot used for chemical synthesis, two mounted distillation units, three fabricated mixers and condensers, and two vegetable dehydrator machines used for the rapid drying of drug crystals.

According to the NDLEA, immediate field tests conducted by forensic experts confirmed that samples of the finished crystals tested positive for methamphetamine, while substances recovered from one of the drums tested positive for Phenylacetic acid.

The agency stated that all exhibits recovered during the operation had been safely evacuated, documented and preserved as evidence for prosecution.

Marwa described the seizure as another major blow to drug trafficking networks, noting that the recovered substances and equipment were worth billions of naira and had the potential to produce millions of doses of synthetic drugs for distribution within Nigeria and abroad.

He further noted that the discovery of the laboratory near another clandestine facility previously uncovered in neighbouring Ogun State suggests a deliberate effort by drug cartels to establish a synthetic drug manufacturing hub in the South-West region.

According to him, criminal syndicates have increasingly turned to dense forests as hiding places in an attempt to evade law enforcement agencies.

Marwa, however, warned local and international drug cartels that Nigeria would not become a safe haven for illicit drug production and trafficking.

“Nigeria is not, and will never be, a haven for your illicit trade. We will find you in the cities, track you into the forests, and 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.