Marwa Vows Nigeria Will Not Become Haven For Transnational Drug Cartels
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled another industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory and arrested a Mexican drug kingpin at the Lagos airport, exposing an international network allegedly seeking to establish illicit drug production facilities in Nigeria.
The breakthrough followed months of intelligence gathering and forensic investigations by the agency’s Special Operations Unit (SOU), which linked the Mexican national, Arturo Carrera Loaiza, to a series of clandestine methamphetamine laboratory operations uncovered in Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi states.
Announcing the development in Lagos on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), represented by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the latest operation demonstrated the agency’s growing capacity to track and dismantle sophisticated transnational drug networks.
The investigation dates back to May 16, 2026, when NDLEA operatives arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun State.
On June 17, another Mexican national and four Nigerian accomplices were arrested at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Tapa village, Oyo State, where operatives discovered large quantities of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals.
Further investigation into the Oyo operation revealed that the 56-year-old Mexican meth expert arrested at the facility, Jose Villa Ochoa, had allegedly been recruited and brought into Nigeria by Loaiza.
Working with international partners, NDLEA investigators obtained a photograph of Loaiza, which Ochoa positively identified as the person who recruited him.
Intelligence subsequently established that Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10, 2026, alongside another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.
On August 19, NDLEA operatives tracked and arrested Loaiza while he was attempting to leave Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
During interrogation, Loaiza reportedly claimed that a Nigerian contact identified only as “Henry” had invited him to Nigeria for a restaurant business venture. He also denied knowledge of methamphetamine production or involvement with the Tapa village laboratory.
However, investigators said evidence recovered during the investigation pointed in a different direction.
Among the evidence was an image of Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing beside equipment consistent with methamphetamine production. Location metadata from the image led investigators to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State.
On August 30, NDLEA operatives raided the property linked to John Samuel Ivo Okike.
Interviews with the site engineer and caretaker revealed the existence of a suspicious temporary structure constructed over the septic tank area at the rear of the property, while strong chemical odours were reportedly detected around the premises.
A CCTV memory card recovered from the property provided further evidence, according to the agency.
Forensic analysis of the footage allegedly showed a foreign national wearing a blue laboratory coat matching Loaiza’s recovered image, as well as repeated appearances by Okike.
The footage also reportedly captured the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment from the property at about 9 p.m. on August 21, with Okike allegedly directing the operation.
Acting on additional intelligence from a confidential source, NDLEA operatives traced the relocated materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community, where they were allegedly kept under the custody of Nwanja Obasi.
A subsequent raid led to the recovery of a substantial cache of chemicals, laboratory equipment and other items linked to methamphetamine production.
The recovered materials included a dehydrator containing a white cloth sieve embedded with loose methamphetamine, three additional empty 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.
Operatives also recovered 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 matching the one recovered at the John Samuel property.
The NDLEA said the recovery, combined with CCTV footage, forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts, had significantly strengthened the case against persons allegedly connected to the network.
Marwa warned that Nigeria would not be allowed to become a base for international drug cartels attempting to relocate their laboratories into the country’s forests and rural communities.
“Nigeria will not be allowed to become a haven for transnational drug cartels seeking to relocate their laboratories from other jurisdictions into our forests and rural communities,” Marwa stated.
He said the arrest of Loaiza and the dismantling of the Ebonyi facility, following the earlier operations in Ogun and Oyo, showed that the NDLEA’s intelligence and forensic capabilities were capable of confronting increasingly sophisticated drug syndicates.
Marwa commended officers of the Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics team and the Oyo, Ogun and Ebonyi State Commands for their diligence, professionalism and bravery.
He also vowed that the agency would continue to pursue every lead until the alleged international financiers and their local collaborators were brought to justice.
The NDLEA renewed its appeal to residents, particularly those living in rural and forest communities, to report suspicious activities, unusual chemical odours and strange structures that could be connected to clandestine drug operations.
Members of the public can contact the agency through its toll-free helpline, 080010203040, or by email at info@ndlea.gov.ng.
