Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have dismantled a large-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory operated by a Nigerian-Mexican drug cartel in a remote forest in Oyo State, arresting five suspects, including a Mexican national believed to be the syndicate’s chief methamphetamine production expert.
The operation, which took place in Tapa Village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State, marks another major breakthrough in the agency’s ongoing crackdown on transnational drug trafficking networks and comes barely four weeks after a similar industrial-scale meth laboratory was uncovered and destroyed in a forest in Ijebu East, Ogun State.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), represented by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, described the facility as a highly sophisticated drug production centre capable of churning out large quantities of methamphetamine for distribution within Nigeria and across international markets.
According to Marwa, the operation was carried out on June 17 by tactical operatives acting on credible intelligence.
“On Wednesday, June 17, 2026, tactical operatives of the NDLEA stormed a highly fortified, industrial-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory operating deep within the forest of Tapa Village in Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
“This was not a rudimentary setup; it was a sophisticated, highly organised transnational syndicate,” he said.
The NDLEA boss disclosed that five principal members of the cartel were arrested during the raid, including 56-year-old Mexican national, Jose Villa Ochoa, who was allegedly brought into Nigeria to provide technical expertise for large-scale methamphetamine production.
The other suspects arrested were identified as Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43.
Marwa said the presence of a foreign methamphetamine specialist highlighted the international nature of the criminal network and demonstrated the growing collaboration between local and foreign drug traffickers.
“The arrest of a foreign cartel specialist on Nigerian soil underscores the transnational nature of this threat, but more importantly, it underscores our agency’s intelligence capability to track, intercept and neutralise such networks,” he stated.
Following the operation, forensic and chemical experts from the agency conducted an extensive examination of the facility on June 18, uncovering what officials described as a factory-scale drug production line.
Among the items recovered were large quantities of precursor chemicals used in methamphetamine production, including Phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), Phenylacetic acid, Sulphuric acid, Caustic soda, Tartaric acid and Ethyl Phenylacetate.
Investigators also recovered four industrial drums containing chemical mixtures undergoing synthesis, as well as a drum containing approximately 300 litres of crystalline substances.
The agency further seized sophisticated processing equipment, including a reactor pot, mounted distillation units, condensers, mixers and vegetable dehydrator machines used in the final processing and drying of methamphetamine crystals.
Marwa said preliminary field tests conducted by NDLEA forensic experts confirmed that samples recovered from the laboratory tested positive for methamphetamine.
He added that all exhibits had been carefully documented and preserved as evidence for prosecution.
“As a result, immediate field tests were conducted by our forensic experts. Samples of the finished crystals recovered yielded a definitive positive result for methamphetamine.
“Furthermore, the crystalline substance recovered from one of the drums tested positive for Phenylacetic acid. Every gram of these exhibits has been safely evacuated, documented and preserved for evidential presentation in court,” he said.
The NDLEA chairman described the laboratory as a multibillion-naira operation capable of producing millions of doses of illicit drugs if left unchecked.
He warned that drug syndicates attempting to establish production hubs in Nigeria would continue to face relentless pressure from the agency.
“The proximity of this latest discovery to the Ogun State laboratory dismantled just weeks ago reveals a deliberate attempt by drug cartels to establish a synthetic drug manufacturing corridor in the South-West.
“Let the message go out clearly to all drug cartels, both domestic and international, that Nigeria is not, and will never be, a safe haven for illicit drug production and trafficking.
“We will find you in the cities, we will track you into the forests and we will dismantle your infrastructure of death,” Marwa said.
He commended officers of the Oyo State Command who participated in the operation for their professionalism, bravery and commitment to the fight against drug trafficking.
The NDLEA boss also expressed appreciation to members of the public for providing credible intelligence and urged Nigerians to continue supporting law enforcement efforts aimed at protecting communities from the dangers of illicit drugs.
