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For months, it sat undetected, a fully operational, industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory buried deep in the Mowe Forest of Ijebu East Local Government Area, Ogun State. Then, in a rare move, a Federal High Court packed up and came to it.
News Central has followed the investigation closely, reporting every major update as it unfolds, ensuring that audiences are informed from the initial discovery through the latest development in the case. Justice Musa Kakaki’s special sitting inside the seized facility marked the first time media and court officials were granted access to the site, and what they found was less a drug den than a self-sustaining industrial compound. Investigators discovered the facility, allegedly used to produce 2,419.48 kilograms of methamphetamine valued at more than ₦480 billion.
This was no makeshift bush operation. The site had power supply, water storage, living quarters, a store, and a domestic kitchen infrastructure, suggesting the operators intended to stay for the long haul, sealed off from prying eyes by dense forest cover. Beyond the residential section lay the real business end: industrial machinery, laboratory equipment, and stockpiles of precursor chemicals.
A reporter from News Central, Igbalaniyi Omoniyi, was on the ground to document every stage of the bust. By reporting directly from the scene, News Central gave viewers a closer look at one of Nigeria’s biggest drug busts, capturing developments as they unfolded and providing context that extended beyond official statements. The exclusive access reinforced the station’s commitment to in-depth, field-based journalism on issues of national security and public interest.
Those precursors tell their own story of intent and scale. Prosecutors say the defendants transported precursor chemicals used in methamphetamine production, including toluene, Phenyl-2-Propanone (P2P), phenylacetic acid, acetone, and hydrochloric acid, from Lagos to the forest laboratory using a Toyota Tacoma, a Mercedes-Benz, and a Toyota Highlander. Investigators later recovered 358 kilograms of toluene, 1,834 kilograms of hydrochloric acid, and 22.5 kilograms of acetone at the site.
At the center of the case is 63-year-old Anochili Innocent, described by prosecutors as the syndicate’s mastermind and the owner and operator of the fenced property in Mowe Forest where the clandestine laboratory was located. He was arrested at his residence in Lekki, Lagos.
Standing trial alongside him are three Mexican nationals: Juan Carlos Meza Torrero (49), Nemecio Martinez Felix (46) and Jesus López Valles (40), both believed to be the syndicate’s chemists, brought in to run production. Six other Nigerians complete the accused: Nwankwo Sunday Christian (41), Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor (38), Igwe Abuchi Remijus (43), Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua (23), Omonughwa Kingsley Orike (45) and Nwobum Emeka (59).
All ten were picked up during coordinated NDLEA operations across Ogun and Lagos states between 16 and 18 May 2026, following the discovery of an illicit laboratory concealed deep within Mowe Forest. According to the charge sheet, the operation had been running since February, with the syndicate conspiring between February and 16 May 2026 to establish and operate the clandestine laboratory for the preparation, processing and production of methamphetamine.
Arraigned before Justice Kakaki at the Federal High Court in Lagos on July 10, all ten defendants pleaded not guilty to an 11-count charge spanning conspiracy, illicit drug manufacturing, and financing a drug trafficking organization. The special court’s visit to the forest laboratory was aimed squarely at the exhibits and inspecting, in situ, the machinery and chemical stockpiles the prosecution says prove the case. During the on-site sitting, prosecution witness Ajilema Anebi, described as an expert in clandestine laboratories, continued testimony for the state.
For the NDLEA, the case is being framed as a warning shot as much as a prosecution. Agency Chairman Buba Marwa said the presence of Mexican nationals among the suspects pointed to the “alarming reach of international drug cartels now attempting to entrench themselves in Nigeria,” and vowed the agency would keep pursuing networks trying to turn the country into a manufacturing hub for illicit drugs.
The message from investigators is unambiguous: Nigeria’s forests, once assumed remote enough to escape scrutiny, are no longer being treated as safe ground for transnational cartels. In the latest reports, the NDLEA has carried out a court order to destroy the drug site. Accounts from the scene suggest that the illegal facility was destroyed on 29th July, 2026, in a closed operation. News Central continues to monitor the story and investigations of the NDLEA.
