Ten individuals, including a 63-year-old alleged drug baron, Anochili Innocent, three Mexican nationals, and six other Nigerians, have been arraigned before Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on an 11-count criminal charge.
The Director of Media and Advocacy at the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement made available to ThelensNG on Friday.
The defendants: Anochili Innocent, 63; Juan Carlos Meza Torrero, 49; Nemecio Martinez Felix, 46; Jesus López Valles, 40, all Mexican nationals except Anochili; Nwankwo Sunday Christian, 41; Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor, 38; Igwe Abuchi Remijus, 43; Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua, 23; Omonughwa Kingsley Orike, 45; and Nwobum Emeka, 59, were docked on Friday, July 10, 2026, following their arrest by operatives of the NDLEA in coordinated raids in Ogun and Lagos States between May 16 and 18, 2026.
Suspects arrested at the super lab hidden deep inside Mowe Forest, Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, on May 16 include Nwankwo Sunday Christian, Igwe Abuchi Remijus, Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua, and Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor, as well as the three Mexican methamphetamine experts: Juan Carlos Meza Torrero, Nemecio Martinez Felix, and Jesus López Valles. The cartel’s alleged mastermind, Anochili Innocent, was simultaneously arrested at his luxury residence located at No. 8 Tafawa Balewa Street, Golf Estate, Lakowe, Lekki, Lagos State.
In follow-up operations on Monday, May 18, 2026, NDLEA operatives stormed another property allegedly owned by the baron at House 70, Close 3, Mayfair Estate, Lakowe, Lekki, Lagos, where another key member of the syndicate, Kingsley Orike Omonughwa, was arrested, after which investigators stormed the residence of another syndicate member, Emeka Nwobum, whose property allegedly served as the cartel’s strategic stash house the same day.
The 11-count charge, filed by the NDLEA prosecution team, accuses the defendants of conspiring, between February and May 16, 2026, to establish a clandestine laboratory for the preparation, processing and production of methamphetamine, in violation of Section 14(b) of the NDLEA Act.
Other counts include managing, organising and financing a drug trafficking organisation, contrary to Section 20(1)(g); unlawfully transporting precursor chemicals, including toluene, phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), phenylacetic acid, acetone and hydrochloric acid, from Lagos to the Mowe laboratory using a Toyota Tacoma, a Mercedes-Benz with registration number APP 942 YL and a Toyota Highlander with registration number GWA 662 DJ, contrary to Section 20(1)(f); and the unlawful production and possession of the 2,419.48kg haul of methamphetamine, contrary to Sections 11(a) and 19 of the Act, respectively.
The charge sheet further details the separate possession of large quantities of precursor chemicals recovered at the laboratory, including 358kg of toluene, 1,834kg of hydrochloric acid and 22.5kg of acetone, alongside quantities of P2P and phenylacetic acid, all contrary to Section 20(1)(e) of the NDLEA Act.
In a count peculiar to the alleged kingpin, Anochili Innocent, whom the Agency described as the owner of the fenced expanse of land on which the super lab was sited, he was charged separately under Section 12 of the NDLEA Act for unlawfully allowing his property to be used for the production of the illicit drug.
All 10 defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read before Justice Kakaki. The prosecution thereafter called seven witnesses to commence trial, having served the defence with the proof of evidence since July 3, 2026, but the defence objected and asked for more time. The court consequently ordered that the defendants be remanded in the Lagos Correctional Centre and adjourned the case until July 16 and 22, 2026 for trial and the hearing of the bail application.
Speaking on the arraignment, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), stated that the case represents one of the most significant dismantlings of an industrial-scale narcotics production operation on Nigerian soil.
Marwa noted that the case highlights the increasingly transnational character of drug trafficking networks that are now desperate to exploit Nigeria as a manufacturing base for onward export.
“The presence of Mexican nationals among those arrested and arraigned today speaks to the alarming reach of international drug cartels now attempting to entrench themselves in Nigeria, but the Agency will not relent in tracking down and dismantling every such network, no matter how well concealed or well-financed,” he stated.
He reiterated NDLEA’s commitment to ridding Nigeria of drug cartels and their local collaborators and called on members of the public to continue providing useful information to support the Agency’s operations nationwide.
