Victoria Ojiako

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled another industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory and arrested a  Mexican national, identified as Arturo Carrera Loaiza, who the agency described as a drug kingpin linked to a wider network involved in the establishment of clandestine methamphetamine laboratories in Nigeria.

Loaiza was arrested on August 19 while attempting to leave Nigeria through the Lagos airport, following an investigation by the agency’s Special Operations Unit (SOU) into clandestine drug laboratories earlier uncovered in Ogun and Oyo states.

The development was disclosed on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, during a media briefing in Lagos addressed by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on behalf of the agency’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd).

According to Babafemi, the arrest of Loaiza and the subsequent dismantling of the Ebonyi State facility followed months of investigation into a wider criminal network suspected of attempting to establish industrial-scale methamphetamine production facilities in Nigeria.

The NDLEA had earlier 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, identified as 56-year-old Jose Villa Ochoa, was arrested alongside four Nigerian collaborators at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory concealed in a forested area of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.

Field tests conducted at the Oyo laboratory, according to the agency, confirmed the presence of large quantities of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals.

Investigation uncovers alleged mastermind

Babafemi said investigations into the Oyo operation led the Special Operations Unit to identify Loaiza as the person who allegedly recruited Villa Ochoa to Nigeria.

The 56-year-old Mexican, who was described by the agency as a methamphetamine expert, reportedly identified Loaiza from a photograph obtained by NDLEA investigators through international intelligence cooperation.

The agency said further intelligence showed that Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10 alongside another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.

NDLEA operatives subsequently tracked Loaiza and arrested him at the Lagos airport on August 19 as he attempted to leave the country.

During interrogation, the suspect reportedly claimed that he had been invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian contact identified only as “Henry” under the pretext of a restaurant business venture.

He also reportedly denied having any knowledge of methamphetamine production or involvement in the laboratory at Tapa village.

However, Babafemi said investigators uncovered evidence which they believe connected Loaiza to the suspected drug-production network.

Images lead investigators to Ebonyi property

According to the NDLEA, investigators recovered photographs showing Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing among equipment believed to be consistent with methamphetamine production.

The agency said analysis of the location metadata embedded in the photographs led investigators to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State.

On August 30, NDLEA operatives moved into the property, which the agency linked to one John Samuel Ivo Okike.

Interviews with people found at the site, including the site engineer and a caretaker, reportedly revealed the presence of a suspicious temporary structure erected over the septic tank area at the rear of the building.

They also reported persistent strong chemical odours coming from the premises.

A CCTV memory card recovered from the property subsequently provided what the agency described as significant evidence in the investigation.

Babafemi said forensic examination of the footage showed a foreign national wearing a blue laboratory coat on the premises. The person was said to match the photograph of Loaiza previously recovered by investigators.

The footage also reportedly showed repeated appearances by Okike.

More importantly, according to the NDLEA, CCTV footage recorded at about 9 p.m. on August 21 showed chemicals and laboratory equipment being moved from the property.

Okike was allegedly seen directing the movement, alongside other individuals who assisted in relocating the materials.

Materials recovered from relocated laboratory

Following intelligence from a confidential source, NDLEA operatives traced the relocated materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community, where they were allegedly being kept by an individual identified as Nwanja Obasi.

A subsequent raid on the location resulted in the recovery of chemicals, laboratory equipment and other items which the agency said were connected to methamphetamine production.

Among the items recovered was a dehydrator containing a white cloth sieve with loose methamphetamine, as well as three additional empty dehydrators.

The NDLEA also listed 442.8kg of acetone, 37.1kg of toluene, a 20kg mixture of acetone and bromobenzene, 1.7kg of ethanol, 5.1kg of chloride salt, 31.5kg of hydrochloric acid, 200kg of P2B and 1kg of tartaric acid among the recovered substances.

Other equipment recovered included condensing units, a condenser head, a condenser, a fabricated reaction pot, an access pump, weighing scales, mixers, drums, gas burners and gloves.

A blue laboratory coat matching the one seen in the earlier photographs was also recovered.

Babafemi said the recovery, combined with CCTV footage, forensic findings and eyewitness accounts, had strengthened the agency’s case against persons linked to the network.

NDLEA vows to prevent Nigeria becoming drug-cartel haven

Speaking through Babafemi, Marwa warned that Nigeria would not be allowed to become a base for transnational drug cartels seeking to establish clandestine laboratories in the country’s forests and rural communities.

He said the arrest of Loaiza and the dismantling of the Ebonyi facility, coming after the earlier operations in Ogun and Oyo states, demonstrated the agency’s intelligence and forensic capabilities.

Marwa also commended personnel of the Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics and the NDLEA commands in Oyo, Ogun and Ebonyi states for their roles in the operations.

He said the agency would continue to pursue leads until the wider network, including its alleged financiers and local collaborators, was brought to justice.

The NDLEA also appealed to residents, particularly those living in rural and forested communities, to report suspicious activities, unusual chemical odours and unfamiliar structures that could be connected to clandestine drug production.

The agency provided its toll-free number, 080010203040, and email address, info@ndlea.gov.ng, for such reports.

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