The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered another industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State and arrested a Mexican drug kingpin, Arturo Carrera Loaiza, while attempting to flee the country through the Lagos airport.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), disclosed this while briefing the media on the latest development in Lagos on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
Marwa stated that the breakthrough followed months of painstaking investigation into a wider criminal network behind a string of clandestine drug laboratories uncovered in parts of the country this year.
The NDLEA boss, who was represented by the Agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, recalled that operatives had earlier this year arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun State on Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Similarly, the Agency arrested another Mexican national alongside four Nigerian collaborators at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory hidden in a forested part of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State, on June 17, 2026. Field tests confirmed large quantities of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals at the site.
Marwa revealed that investigations by the Agency’s Special Operations Unit (SOU) into the Oyo State arrest led operatives to establish that the 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine expert, Jose Villa Ochoa, who was arrested at the forest laboratory, had been recruited into Nigeria by Mexican drug kingpin Arturo Carrera Loaiza.
He said that, working with international partners, NDLEA investigators obtained a photograph of Loaiza, which the arrested suspect positively identified as that of the man who recruited and brought him into Nigeria.
He added that intelligence further showed that Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10, 2026, alongside another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.
According to Marwa: “On 19th August 2026, our operatives tracked down and arrested Arturo Carrera Loaiza attempting to flee the country through the Lagos airport. During interrogation, he claimed he had been invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian contact, identified only as ‘Henry’, under the guise of a restaurant business venture, and denied any knowledge of methamphetamine manufacturing or involvement with the Tapa village laboratory.
“However, our findings told a different story. Investigators recovered images of Arturo dressed in a blue laboratory coat, standing amid equipment consistent with methamphetamine production. Analysis of the location metadata embedded in these images led our operatives to a property undergoing construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi, Ebonyi State.
“On 30th August 2026, our operatives moved on the Ebonyi State property, linked to one John Samuel Ivo Okike. Interviews with persons found at the site, including the site engineer and a caretaker, revealed the erection of a suspicious temporary structure over the septic tank area at the rear of the building, and persistent strong chemical odours emanating from the premises.
“A CCTV memory card recovered from the property proved decisive. Forensic review of the footage showed a foreign national in a blue laboratory coat on the premises, matching the image of Arturo Carrera Loaiza earlier recovered, as well as repeated appearances by John Samuel Ivo Okike. Critically, the footage captured, at about 9:00 p.m. on 21st August 2026, the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment out of the property, with John Samuel Ivo Okike seen directing the operation alongside others assisting in the relocation.”
He revealed that, acting on further intelligence from a confidential source, operatives traced the relocated materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community, which was under the custody of one Nwanja Obasi.
A raid on the location led to the recovery of a substantial cache of methamphetamine-related chemicals, equipment, and paraphernalia.
The recovered items included a dehydrator containing a white cloth sieve embedded with loose methamphetamine; three additional empty dehydrators; 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.
Also recovered were condensing units, a condenser head, a condenser, a fabricated reaction pot, an access pump, weighing scales, mixers, drums, gas burners, gloves and a blue laboratory coat matching the one recovered at the John Samuel property.
“This recovery, taken together with the CCTV evidence, other forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts, has significantly strengthened the case against all persons connected to this network,” Marwa said.
Speaking on the capacity and capability of the Agency under his leadership to root out transnational drug cartels seeking a foothold in the country, Marwa warned that Nigeria would never become a safe haven for merchants of death.
“Let me be unequivocal, Nigeria will not be allowed to become a haven for transnational drug cartels seeking to relocate their laboratories from other jurisdictions into our forests and rural communities.
“The arrest of Arturo Carrera Loaiza and the dismantling of the Ebonyi State facility, coming so soon after the Ogun and Oyo State operations, demonstrate that this Agency’s intelligence and forensic capabilities are more than a match for these syndicates, however sophisticated they may believe themselves to be,” he added.
Marwa commended officers of the Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics, and the Oyo, Ogun, and Ebonyi State Commands for their diligence, professionalism, and courage in the discharge of their responsibilities during the three operations.
He vowed that the Agency would continue to pursue every lead until the full network, its financiers, and local enablers were brought to justice.
He also renewed the Agency’s call on Nigerians, particularly those living in rural and forested communities, to report suspicious activities, unusual chemical odours or unfamiliar structures to the NDLEA through its toll-free line, 080010203040, or by email at info@ndlea.gov.ng.
