The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered and dismantled a multi-billion-naira clandestine methamphetamine laboratory hidden deep inside a forest in Oyo State, arresting a Mexican drug expert and four Nigerian collaborators in what authorities described as a major blow to a transnational drug cartel.
The operation, carried out at Tapa Village in Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State, mark the second discovery of a large-scale methamphetamine production facility in the South-West within a month, raising concerns about attempts by drug syndicates to establish the region as a hub for synthetic drug manufacturing.
Speaking at a press briefing at the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), represented by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said operatives stormed the heavily fortified laboratory on June 17, 2026, following intelligence-led investigations.
According to Marwa, five key members of the cartel were arrested during the raid, including 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine specialist, Jose Villa Ochoa, who was allegedly brought into Nigeria to provide technical expertise for large-scale drug production.
The other suspects were identified as Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43.
Marwa said the arrest of a foreign drug expert underscores the international dimension of the criminal operation and highlights the agency’s growing capacity to track and dismantle sophisticated drug networks.
“This was not a rudimentary setup. It was a sophisticated, highly organized transnational syndicate,” he said.
Following the raid, a specialized team from the NDLEA Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring conducted an extensive examination of the facility, uncovering what officials described as a factory-scale methamphetamine production line stocked with large quantities of precursor chemicals and industrial processing equipment.
Recovered items included drums of Phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), a highly controlled chemical used in methamphetamine synthesis, and 1,800-litre drums containing Phenylacetic acid, another critical precursor.
Operatives also recovered two 180-litre drums containing about 300 litres of whitish crystalline substance, four 180-litre drums containing dark liquid undergoing synthesis, 101 bags of caustic soda weighing 25 kilograms each, 17 containers of sulphuric acid, nearly 20 containers of tartaric acid, multiple containers of Reniso Ultracool 68, 25 bottles of 80 per cent thioglycolic acid, two containers of ethyl phenylacetate, and 25 cartons of aluminium foil.
The industrial equipment recovered included a reactor pot used for chemical synthesis, two mounted distillation units, three fabricated mixers and condensers, and two vegetable dehydrator machines used in drying methamphetamine crystals.
According to the NDLEA boss, field tests conducted by forensic experts confirmed that samples recovered from the site tested positive for methamphetamine.
He said all exhibits had been safely evacuated, documented, and preserved for presentation in court.
Marwa described the seizure as another multi-billion-naira drug operation capable of producing millions of doses of synthetic drugs for distribution across Nigeria and beyond.
He noted that the discovery comes barely four weeks after the agency dismantled another industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory hidden in a forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State.
“The proximity of these discoveries reveals a desperate attempt by drug barons to establish a synthetic drug manufacturing hub in the South-West axis,” he said.
Issuing a stern warning to local and international drug cartels, Marwa declared that Nigeria would not become a safe haven for illicit drug production.
“Let the message go out clearly to all drug cartels, domestic and international, that Nigeria is not, and will never be, a safe haven for your illicit trade. We will find you in the cities, we will track you into the forests, and we will dismantle your infrastructure of death. They thought hiding in dense forests would shield them from the long arm of the law. They were wrong,” he said.
He commended officers of the NDLEA Oyo State Command for their courage, dedication and professionalism during the operation and thanked members of the public for providing intelligence that contributed to the success of the raid.
The agency reaffirmed its commitment to intensifying efforts against drug trafficking and disrupting criminal networks operating within and outside Nigeria.
