NDLEA Dismantles Oyo Meth Factory, Arrests Mexican, Four Nigerians
By Anne Osemekeh, Abuja
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered and dismantled a fortified industrial-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory hidden deep inside a forest in Tapa Village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The agency disclosed the development during a press briefing at its headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, saying that operatives arrested a Mexican national and four Nigerians allegedly linked to a transnational drug cartel.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), represented by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, described the operation as a major breakthrough against international drug trafficking networks.
According to Marwa, the laboratory was raided on June 17, 2026, by NDLEA tactical operatives following intelligence reports. He said the facility was not a rudimentary operation but a sophisticated, highly organized drug production centre run by a Nigerian-Mexican cartel.
Five suspects were arrested during the operation, including 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine specialist, Jose Villa Ochoa, who was allegedly brought into Nigeria to provide technical expertise for large-scale drug synthesis. The other suspects were identified as Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43.
Marwa noted that the latest discovery came barely four weeks after the agency dismantled another massive methamphetamine laboratory in a forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, suggesting what he described as a desperate attempt by drug syndicates to establish a synthetic drug manufacturing hub in the South-West region.
He said a specialized team from the agency’s Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring conducted an extensive examination of the facility after the raid, uncovering what he described as a “factory-level production line of poison.”
The NDLEA boss revealed that operatives recovered large quantities of precursor chemicals and processing materials used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Among the items recovered were Phenyl-2-Propanone (P2P), identified as a key precursor for methamphetamine production; drums containing phenylacetic acid; approximately 300 litres of a whitish crystalline substance; and several drums containing liquid substances undergoing synthesis.
Other materials recovered included 101 bags of caustic soda, 17 containers of sulphuric acid, 19.5 containers of tartaric acid, containers of Reniso Ultracool 68, bottles of thioglycolic acid, containers of ethyl phenylacetate, and cartons of aluminium foil.
The agency also recovered industrial processing equipment, including a reactor pot, mounted distillation units, fabricated mixers and condensers, as well as vegetable dehydrator machines reportedly used in the drying of methamphetamine crystals.
According to NDLEA forensic experts, field tests conducted on samples recovered from the laboratory yielded positive results for methamphetamine, while crystalline substances found in one of the drums tested positive for phenylacetic acid.
Marwa said all exhibits had been safely evacuated, documented and preserved for prosecution, adding that the recovered chemicals and equipment were worth billions of naira and had the capacity to produce millions of doses of synthetic drugs.
“The arrest of a foreign cartel specialist on Nigerian soil underscores the transnational nature of this threat, but more importantly highlights our agency’s intelligence capability to track, intercept and neutralize such criminal networks,” he said.
Warning drug traffickers against using Nigeria as a base for illicit drug production, Marwa declared that the agency would continue to pursue criminal syndicates regardless of where they operate.
“Let the message go out clearly to all drug cartels, domestic and international, that Nigeria is not, and will never be, a safe haven for your illicit trade. We will find you in the cities, track you into the forests, and dismantle your infrastructure of death,” he said.
He commended the officers of the Oyo State Command involved in the operation for their professionalism and dedication, while also thanking members of the public for providing credible information that aided the agency’s efforts.
