NDLEA busts ‘N480bn meth laboratory’ in Ogun forest, arrests three Mexicans

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has dismantled a methamphetamine laboratory in Ogun state.

A statement on Wednesday by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said the operation led to the seizure of over 2.4 tonnes of methamphetamine and chemical materials valued at more than $362 million, equivalent to over N480 billion in the international market.

He said the industrial-scale laboratory was hidden inside a remote forest in Ijebu east LGA Ogun state and was allegedly operated jointly by a Nigerian drug cartel and Mexican methamphetamine experts.

“Through a clinical, simultaneous operation executed by the elite operatives of our Special Operations Unit (SOU), we have successfully dismantled a sophisticated, transnational methamphetamine production syndicate run jointly by a Nigerian drug cartel and their Mexican counterparts,” the statement reads.

“This network did not just traffic drugs; they were actively manufacturing industrial-scale quantities of highly lethal illicit substances right on our soil, threatening the national security and public health of Nigeria.”

Babafemi said NDLEA operatives launched simultaneous raids in Ogun and Lagos states on May 16 after months of intelligence gathering.

“The primary target was a remote farm located at Abidagba forest, in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State. This farm was being used as a massive, highly dangerous clandestine methamphetamine laboratory by the Anochili Innocent Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO),” he said.

Babafemi added that another tactical team simultaneously stormed a residence in the Lakowe area of Lekki, Lagos, where the alleged mastermind, identified as Anochili Innocent, was arrested.

“At the farm in the Ijebu forest, our operatives overran the clandestine laboratory in Ogun State, securing the perimeter and catching the syndicates completely off-guard,” the statement reads.

“Among those arrested are three Mexican nationals brought into the country specifically to cook this deadly substance, alongside four Nigerian collaborators.”

The spokesperson identified the arrested Mexicans as Martinez Felix Nemecto, Jesus López Valles, and Torrero Juan Carlos.

The Nigerian suspects arrested at the forest laboratory were identified as Nwankwo Sunday Christian, Igwe Abuchi Remijus, Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua, and Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor,

Marwa said investigators later arrested another suspect, Kingsley Orike Omonughwa, at a property linked to the alleged cartel leader in Lekki, while operatives also raided the residence of another syndicate member, Emeka Nwobum, which allegedly served as the cartel’s stash house.

He said the total number of suspects in custody had risen to 10, including the alleged kingpin, the three Mexican nationals and six Nigerian collaborators.

Providing details of the seizure, Babafemi said NDLEA recovered 2,419.48 kilograms of chemical materials, including finished and liquid methamphetamine, toxic precursor chemicals and industrial solvents.

“The operation yielded a massive 2,419.48 kilograms (over 2.4 tons) of chemical materials, including highly toxic, volatile, and crystallized methamphetamine worth Three Hundred and Sixty-Two Million, Nine Hundred and Twenty-Two Thousand Dollars ($362,922,000.00) in the international market,” he said.

“This translates to over Four Hundred and Eighty Billion Naira (N480,000,000,000.00). Imagine this humongous amount in the control of criminal elements!”

The agency also recovered a Toyota Tacoma vehicle allegedly used for operations at the forest laboratory and a Toyota Highlander seized from the residence of the alleged cartel leader.(TheCable)