The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered a transnational methamphetamine network stretching from a forest laboratory in Oyo State to a property in Ebonyi State, leading to the arrest of a Mexican national described as a key figure in the operation.
The suspect, 56-year-old Arturo Carrera Loaiza, was arrested on August 19 while attempting to leave Nigeria through the Lagos airport, according to the NDLEA.
The agency said forensic evidence recovered during the investigation subsequently linked Loaiza to a suspicious facility in Ebonyi, where officers found chemicals, laboratory equipment, and methamphetamine-related materials.
The development followed a months-long investigation into clandestine drug laboratories allegedly established with the involvement of foreign nationals and Nigerian collaborators.
The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), disclosed the breakthrough in Lagos on Tuesday through the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
Marwa said the investigation began after operatives uncovered a methamphetamine laboratory hidden in a forested area of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Field tests at the site confirmed the presence of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals.
The agency had earlier arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun State on May 16. Another Mexican national and four Nigerian collaborators were arrested at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory on June 17.
According to the NDLEA, investigations into the Oyo operation established that the Mexican laboratory expert arrested there, Jose Villa Ochoa, had been recruited into Nigeria by Loaiza.
Working with international partners, investigators obtained Loaiza’s photograph. Ochoa reportedly identified him as the person who recruited and brought him into the country.
The agency said intelligence showed that Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10 with another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.
Photographs expose second trail
After his arrest at the Lagos airport, Loaiza reportedly told investigators that a Nigerian contact known only as Henry had invited him to Nigeria for a restaurant venture.
He denied knowledge of methamphetamine production or any connection with the Tapa laboratory.
Investigators, however, found photographs showing Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing among equipment consistent with methamphetamine production.
The images provided the breakthrough.
According to the NDLEA, location metadata embedded in the photographs led investigators to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State.
On August 30, operatives searched the property, which was linked to one John Samuel Ivo Okike.
Interviews with a site engineer and caretaker reportedly revealed the presence of a temporary structure built over a septic tank area behind the building. They also reported persistent chemical odours from the premises.
A CCTV memory card recovered from the property supplied further evidence.
Footage allegedly showed a foreign national wearing a blue laboratory coat who matched Loaiza’s photographs. It also repeatedly captured Okike at the site.
More significantly, the recording showed chemicals and laboratory equipment being moved from the property at about 9 p.m. on August 21.
The NDLEA said Okike was seen directing the movement while other people assisted in transporting the materials.
Chemicals recovered
Acting on information from a confidential source, investigators traced the relocated materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community under the custody of Nwanja Obasi.
A subsequent raid yielded a substantial cache of chemicals and equipment associated with methamphetamine production.
The agency listed 442.8kg of acetone, 37.1kg of toluene, a 20kg acetone/bromobenzene mixture, 1.7kg of ethanol, 5.1kg of chloride salt, 31.5kg of hydrochloric acid, 200kg of P2B and 1kg of tartaric acid among the items recovered.
Operatives also found dehydrators, condensers, a fabricated reaction pot, weighing scales, mixers, drums, gas burners, and other laboratory apparatus.
One dehydrator reportedly contained a white cloth sieve with loose methamphetamine residue. A blue laboratory coat matching the one seen in the evidence recovered from the earlier property was also found.
The agency said the seizure, combined with CCTV recordings, forensic findings, and witness accounts, had strengthened its case against individuals connected to the network.
‘Nigeria will not be a haven’
Marwa said the operation demonstrated the agency’s growing reliance on intelligence, international cooperation, and forensic investigation to dismantle sophisticated drug networks.
“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,” he said.
He added that the arrest of Loaiza and the dismantling of the Ebonyi facility, following the Ogun and Oyo operations, showed that the agency could penetrate networks operating beyond conventional urban spaces.
The NDLEA chief commended personnel from its Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics, and the Oyo, Ogun and Ebonyi commands for their roles in the investigation.
He said the agency would pursue the remaining leads to identify the network’s financiers and Nigerian facilitators.
The sequence of arrests and discoveries also illustrates how clandestine drug production can exploit isolated communities. Forested locations can provide concealment, while ordinary-looking properties may be used to store equipment and chemicals away from public scrutiny.
The NDLEA therefore called on residents, particularly those living in rural and forested areas, to report unusual chemical smells, unfamiliar structures and suspicious activity.
The case, on the side of investigators, has moved beyond a single laboratory seizure. The trail from Oyo to Ebonyi, supported by photographs, digital location data, and surveillance footage, has given the agency a clearer picture of an alleged international operation seeking to establish methamphetamine production networks on Nigerian soil.
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