The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled an industrial-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State and arrested a suspected Mexican drug kingpin, Arturo Carrera Loaiza, while he was attempting to flee Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The Agency’s Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), disclosed this on Tuesday in Lagos through the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, saying the operation followed months of investigations into a transnational drug syndicate behind a string of clandestine laboratories uncovered across the country.
TheFact Daily notes that the latest breakthrough comes weeks after NDLEA operatives dismantled a massive methamphetamine laboratory concealed in a forest spanning Abidagba and Iroto communities in Ogun State, where 10 suspects, including three Mexican nationals, were arrested. Subsequent forensic analysis also confirmed the presence of precursor chemicals used in the production of fentanyl, raising concerns over attempts by international cartels to establish synthetic drug production hubs in Nigeria.
According to Marwa, investigations into the arrest of Mexican methamphetamine expert Jose Villa Ochoa in Oyo State led operatives to identify Loaiza as a key figure who recruited and moved foreign experts into Nigeria. Further intelligence and forensic analysis of photographs linked him to a property under construction in Isiata Ugoni, Okposi, Ebonyi State.
The NDLEA said CCTV footage recovered from the property showed a suspect, John Samuel Ivo Okike, supervising the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment from the premises on August 21, 2026. Acting on additional intelligence, operatives traced the relocated materials to a nearby house, where they recovered large quantities of methamphetamine-related chemicals, equipment and other laboratory paraphernalia.
Marwa commended the Agency’s Special Operations Unit, forensic experts and field operatives involved in the investigations across Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi states, warning that Nigeria would not become a safe haven for transnational drug cartels and their criminal activities.
