NDLEA Uncovers N480bn Meth Laboratory In Ogun Forest, Arrests Three Mexicans

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered a methamphetamine laboratory in Ogun State.

In a statement on Wednesday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said the operation led to the recovery of more than 2.4 tonnes of meth and related chemical substances.

According to him, the illicit substances worth more than $362 million, equivalent to over N480 billion in the international market.

He explained that the lab was set up deep inside a forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area and was allegedly run by a Nigerian drug network working with Mexican specialists.

“Through a clinical, simultaneous operation executed by the elite operatives of our Special Operations Unit (SOU), we have successfully dismantled a sophisticated, transnational methamphetamine production syndicate run jointly by a Nigerian drug cartel and their Mexican counterparts,” the statement reads.

“This network did not just traffic drugs; they were actively manufacturing industrial-scale quantities of highly lethal illicit substances right on our soil, threatening the national security and public health of Nigeria.”

According to him, the agency carried out coordinated raids in both Ogun and Lagos on May 16 after months of intelligence gathering

“The primary target was a remote farm located at Abidagba forest, in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State.

“This farm was being used as a massive, highly dangerous clandestine methamphetamine laboratory by the Anochili Innocent Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO),” he said.

Babafemisaud another team moved into a house in the Lakowe area of Lekki, Lagos, where the suspected leader of the group, identified as Anochili Innocent, was arrested.

“At the farm in the Ijebu forest, our operatives overran the clandestine laboratory in Ogun State, securing the perimeter and catching the syndicates completely off-guard,” the statement reads.

“Among those arrested are three Mexican nationals brought into the country specifically to cook this deadly substance, alongside four Nigerian collaborators.”

NDLEA spokesman said the Mexicans were identified as Martinez Felix Nemecto, Jesus López Valles, and Torrero Juan Carlos.

The Nigerian suspects arrested at the site included Nwankwo Sunday Christian, Igwe Abuchi Remijus, Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua, and Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor.

Babafemi disclosed that further investigations led to the arrest of another suspect, Kingsley Orike Omonughwa, at a property linked to the alleged leader in Lekki.

He said officers also searched the home of another suspect, Emeka Nwobum, which was believed to be used to store the drugs.

In total, 10 people are now in custody, including the suspected head of the operation, three Mexican nationals, and six Nigerians.

Babafemi added that the seized materials included finished meth, liquid forms of the drug, as well as dangerous chemicals and industrial solvents used in production.

“The operation yielded a massive 2,419.48 kilograms (over 2.4 tons) of chemical materials, including highly toxic, volatile, and crystallized methamphetamine worth Three Hundred and Sixty-Two Million, Nine Hundred and Twenty-Two Thousand Dollars ($362,922,000.00) in the international market,” he said.

“This translates to over Four Hundred and Eighty Billion Naira (N480,000,000,000.00). Imagine this humongous amount in the control of criminal elements!”

The agency also recovered a Toyota Tacoma vehicle allegedly used for operations at the forest laboratory and a Toyota Highlander seized from the residence of the alleged cartel leader.

Babafemi stressed that the scale of the operation shows how serious the threat was, noting that such a huge quantity of drugs in the hands of criminals could have caused major harm.

KanyiDaily recalls that the NDLEA recently seized a large shipment of Canadian Loud, a high-potency strain of cannabis, weighing 4,173.5 kilograms at the Tincan Island Port in Lagos.