The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Mexican national allegedly linked to a transnational methamphetamine syndicate and traced a clandestine laboratory to Ebonyi State following an investigation.
Dismantled methamphetamine production site in Ebonyi State
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Mexican national, Arturo Carrera Loaiza, described as the alleged kingpin of a transnational methamphetamine syndicate operating clandestine laboratories in Nigeria.
Loaiza was arrested on August 19, 2026, while allegedly attempting to leave Nigeria through the Lagos airport, following an investigation that linked him to clandestine laboratories previously uncovered in Ogun and Oyo states.
The NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), disclosed this yesterday in Lagos while briefing journalists on the agency’s latest operations. He was represented by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
Marwa said the investigation began after three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators were arrested on May 16 at a forest hideout in Ogun State, where operatives uncovered a clandestine drug laboratory.
He said the probe led to another breakthrough on June 17, when a 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine expert, Jose Villa Ochoa, and four Nigerian collaborators were arrested at a laboratory concealed in a forested area of Tapa Village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
According to him, investigations by the agency’s Special Operations Unit (SOU) established that Ochoa had been recruited into Nigeria by Loaiza, who allegedly facilitated his movement into the country.
Working with international partners, NDLEA investigators obtained a photograph of Loaiza, which Ochoa positively identified as the man who recruited and brought him into Nigeria.
Further intelligence showed that Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10 alongside another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.
Marwa said Loaiza, during interrogation following his arrest, claimed that he had been invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian contact, identified only as Henry, for a restaurant business venture. He also denied knowledge of methamphetamine production or involvement in the Tapa Village laboratory.
“However, our findings told a different story,” Marwa said. He explained that investigators recovered photographs showing Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing amid equipment consistent with methamphetamine production. Analysis of the location metadata embedded in the photographs led investigators to a property under construction at Isiaka Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State.
On August 30, NDLEA operatives moved into the property, which was linked to John Samuel Ivo Okike.
Marwa said interviews with people found at the site, including the site engineer and caretaker, revealed a suspicious temporary structure erected over the septic tank area at the rear of the building, while strong chemical odours were reportedly emanating from the premises.
A CCTV memory card recovered from the property provided what Marwa described as a major breakthrough.
“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,” he said.
The footage also captured, at about 9:00 p.m. on August 21, the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment from the property.
Okike was allegedly seen directing the operation, alongside others who assisted in relocating the materials.
Acting on intelligence from a confidential source, NDLEA operatives traced the materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community, where they were allegedly kept under the custody of Nwanja Obasi.
A subsequent raid led to the recovery of chemicals, laboratory equipment and other paraphernalia allegedly linked to methamphetamine production.
The items recovered included a dehydrator containing a white-cloth sieve embedded with loose methamphetamine; three additional empty dehydrators; 442.8kg of acetone; 37.1kg of toluene; 20kg of a 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.
Other items included condensing units, a condenser head, a condenser, a fabricated reaction pot, pumps, weighing scales, mixers, drums, gas burners, gloves and a blue laboratory coat matching the one seen in the photographs and CCTV footage.
Marwa said the recovery, together with the CCTV footage, forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts, had significantly strengthened the case against those linked to the syndicate.
He warned: “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.”
Marwa commended officers of the Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics and the Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi State Commands for their diligence and professionalism.
He vowed that the agency would pursue every lead until the syndicate’s network, including its financiers and local collaborators, was brought to justice.
He also urged residents of rural and forested communities, as well as traditional rulers, to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities, unusual chemical odours, unfamiliar structures and questionable construction projects to the agency.
Marwa said the offences under investigation were committed on Nigerian soil and that the suspects would therefore face prosecution in Nigeria.
He added that charges already prepared against suspects arrested in connection with the Oyo laboratory would be consolidated with the new case involving Loaiza, following evidence linking him to the wider criminal network.
The NDLEA urged members of the public to report suspicious activities through its toll-free line, 0800 1020 3040, or by email at info@ndlea.gov.ng.
