The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled what it described as a highly sophisticated Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine production syndicate worth ₦480 billion operating across Lagos and Ogun States.
The operation, described as clinical and simultaneous, was executed by elite operatives of the Agency’s Special Operations Unit (SOU), leading to the shutdown of an industrial-scale clandestine laboratory — the largest ever discovered in Nigeria — hidden in a remote forest in the Ijebu area of Ogun State.
According to a statement made available to ThelensNG by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the operation led to the seizure of what the agency described as the largest methamphetamine haul in the country’s history, as well as the arrest of the cartel’s kingpin, three Mexican technical experts, and six local collaborators.
Speaking on the operational success during a media briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), disclosed that following months of painstaking intelligence gathering, operatives of the SOU launched coordinated strikes across Ogun and Lagos states within 48 hours last week.
“Barely two weeks ago, we announced the successful takedown of a high-profile Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) headed by Simon Amadi in a complex, multi-country operation involving the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Swiss, French, and the Greek law enforcement agencies. Today, I am proud to announce that the NDLEA has struck another crippling blow to the heart of transnational organized crime.
“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,” Marwa said.
He revealed that the cartel did not just traffic drugs, they were actively manufacturing industrial-scale quantities of highly lethal illicit substances right on Nigerian soil, thereby threatening national security and public health.
“After months of painstaking, credible intelligence, our operatives on Saturday, 16th May 2026, launched a well-coordinated, simultaneous strikes in both Ogun and Lagos States. 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 noted that, simultaneously, another tactical team closed in on the mastermind’s luxury fortress at No. 8 Tafawa Balewa Street, Golf Estate, Lakowe, Lekki, Lagos State — the residence of the drug baron, Anochili Innocent. A meticulous search of the premises led to the recovery of the international passports and mobile phones of the three Mexican cooks, directly linking him to the importation and management of the foreign criminals.
Marwa declared that at the farm in the Ijebu forest, NDLEA operatives overran the clandestine laboratory in Ogun State, secured the perimeter, and caught the syndicate completely off guard.
He revealed that seven key members of the cartel involved in processing illicit substances were apprehended at the laboratory, including three Mexican nationals brought into the country specifically to manufacture the deadly substance, alongside four Nigerian collaborators.
The suspects include Nwankwo Sunday Christian, 41; Igwe Abuchi Remijus, 42; Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua, 23; Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor, 38; as well as the three Mexican meth experts — Martinez Felix Nemecto, 46; Jesus López Valles, 40; and Torrero Juan Carlos, 51.
Speaking further, Marwa disclosed that relentless follow-up operations on May 18 led NDLEA operatives to another property owned by Innocent at House 70, Close 3, Mayfair Estate, Lakowe, Lekki, Lagos, where another key member of the syndicate, Kingsley Orike Omonughwa, 44, was arrested. Investigators subsequently stormed the residence of another syndicate member, Emeka Nwobum, whose property served as the cartel’s strategic stash house.
He added that the arrests bring the total number of cartel members in NDLEA custody to 10, including the baron, the three Mexican specialists, and six Nigerian collaborators.
“I equally directed the deployment of our specialized Chemical and Forensic Team to the clandestine laboratory to test, weigh, and secure the chemical components. The sheer volume of dangerous precursor chemicals, industrial solvents, and finished products recovered is staggering,” he remarked.
Marwa announced that the operation yielded a massive 2,419.48 kilograms (over 2.4 tons) of chemical materials, including highly toxic, volatile, and crystallized methamphetamine worth $362,922,000 on the international market. This, he said, translates to over ₦480 billion.
He also listed other items recovered from the cartel, including a Toyota Tacoma vehicle used for operations at the clandestine meth laboratory and a Toyota Highlander seized from the kingpin’s residence.
“To put this in perspective, the 2,419.48 kilograms of finished and liquid methamphetamine seized represents millions of street doses that would have flooded our local communities and international markets, causing untold destruction, psychosis, and violence,” he stated.
The NDLEA boss reiterated that the dismantling of the Anochili Innocent DTO, coming directly on the heels of the Simon Amadi cartel takedown, sends an unequivocal message to drug barons both locally and internationally that Nigeria is a hostile territory for their operations. He warned that the Agency would continue to hunt them down wherever they are located.
“We are fully aware of the shifting tactics of these cartels, including the disturbing trend of hiring South American cartel specialists to set up production factories in our rural communities. Let it be known that no matter how deep into the bush you hide, no matter how secure your gated estate is, the NDLEA will hunt you down, disrupt your networks, and seize your ill-gotten wealth,” Marwa warned.
He expressed gratitude for the support from international partners in keeping Nigeria and the global community safe from the criminal activities of drug cartels, while also commending the extraordinary bravery, professionalism, and precision of the NDLEA SOU operatives and its Chemical and Forensic Team.
“Nigeria owes you all a debt of gratitude,” he said, urging Nigerians to remain vigilant.
He further stated that the forest lab in Ogun was operating under the guise of a regular farm, adding that “Report suspicious activities, strange chemical odours, or unusual movements in your localities. This war is for the soul of our nation, and we will not back down until we achieve a drug-free Nigeria.”
