Written By
Ishioma Appia-Yeboah
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has recorded one of the biggest anti-narcotics breakthroughs in Nigeria’s history after dismantling a sophisticated Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine cartel operating from a hidden forest laboratory in Ogun State.
The operation, described as a major blow to transnational organised crime, led to the arrest of a suspected drug baron, three Mexican nationals allegedly hired as methamphetamine “cooks,” and six Nigerian collaborators.
Authorities also recovered methamphetamine and chemical precursors valued at over N480 billion.Addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA Brigadier General , Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), said the raid followed months of intelligence gathering and coordinated surveillance by the Agency’s Special Operations Unit.
According to him, operatives launched simultaneous operations across Ogun and Lagos States within 48 hours, targeting a clandestine laboratory hidden inside the Abidagba forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State and properties linked to the syndicate in Lagos.Marwa said the forest facility was being used for industrial-scale methamphetamine production by a drug trafficking organisation allegedly headed by one Anochili Innocent.
“This network did not just traffic drugs; they were actively manufacturing industrial-scale quantities of highly lethal illicit substances right on our soil, threatening national security and public health,” he stated.The NDLEA boss disclosed that operatives stormed the forest laboratory and arrested seven suspects on site, including three Mexican nationals identified as Martinez Felix Nemecto, Jesus López Valles, and Torrero Juan Carlos, who were allegedly brought into Nigeria to produce the illicit drug.
Four Nigerians Nwankwo Sunday Christian, Igwe Abuchi Remijus, Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua, and Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor were also arrested during the operation.NDLEA Smashes Biggest Meth Lab in Nigeria, Arrests Mexican ‘Cooks’The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has recorded one of the biggest anti-narcotics breakthroughs in Nigeria’s history after dismantling a sophisticated Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine cartel operating from a hidden forest laboratory in Ogun State.
The operation, described as a major blow to transnational organised crime, led to the arrest of a suspected drug baron, three Mexican nationals allegedly hired as methamphetamine “cooks,” and six Nigerian collaborators.
Authorities also recovered methamphetamine and chemical precursors valued at over N480 billion.Addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA Brigadier General , Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), said the raid followed months of intelligence gathering and coordinated surveillance by the Agency’s Special Operations Unit.
According to him, operatives launched simultaneous operations across Ogun and Lagos States within 48 hours, targeting a clandestine laboratory hidden inside the Abidagba forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State and properties linked to the syndicate in Lagos.
Marwa said the forest facility was being used for industrial-scale methamphetamine production by a drug trafficking organisation allegedly headed by one Anochili Innocent.“This network did not just traffic drugs; they were actively manufacturing industrial-scale quantities of highly lethal illicit substances right on our soil, threatening national security and public health,” he stated.
The NDLEA boss disclosed that operatives stormed the forest laboratory and arrested seven suspects on site, including three Mexican nationals identified as Martinez Felix Nemecto, Jesus López Valles, and Torrero Juan Carlos, who were allegedly brought into Nigeria to produce the illicit drug.
Four Nigerians Nwankwo Sunday Christian, Igwe Abuchi Remijus, Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua, and Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor were also arrested during the operation.