The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has dismantled what authorities described as a sophisticated Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine production syndicate, arrested a suspected drug baron, three Mexican nationals and six Nigerian collaborators during coordinated operations in Ogun and Lagos states.
The operation also led to the discovery and shutdown of what the agency described as the largest clandestine methamphetamine laboratory ever uncovered in Nigeria, hidden deep inside a forest in Ogun State.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, disclosed this during a media briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.
Marwa said the operation followed months of intelligence gathering and surveillance by operatives of the agency’s elite Special Operations Unit (SOU), culminating in coordinated strikes across Ogun and Lagos within 48 hours.
According to him, the latest breakthrough came barely two weeks after the agency announced the takedown of a major drug trafficking organisation allegedly headed by Simon Amadi in a multinational operation involving the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and law enforcement agencies from Switzerland, France and Greece.
“Today, I am proud to announce that the NDLEA has struck another crippling blow to the heart of transnational organised crime,” Marwa said.
“Through a clinical simultaneous operation executed by the elite operatives of our Special Operations Unit, we successfully dismantled a sophisticated transnational methamphetamine production syndicate jointly run by a Nigerian drug cartel and their Mexican counterparts.”
He said the criminal network was not only trafficking illicit substances but was also producing methamphetamine on an industrial scale within Nigeria, posing grave threats to public health and national security.
Marwa explained that the primary target of the operation was a remote farm located at Abidagba Forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, allegedly used by the Anochili Innocent Drug Trafficking Organisation as a clandestine methamphetamine production facility.
“At the forest laboratory, our operatives secured the perimeter and caught the syndicate completely off guard,” he stated.
Seven suspects were initially arrested at the laboratory, including three Mexican nationals allegedly brought into Nigeria to provide technical expertise for meth production.
The suspects arrested at the forest facility were identified as Nwankwo Sunday Christian, 41; Igwe Abuchi Remijus, 42; Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua, 23; Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor, 38; Martinez Felix Nemecto, 46; Jesus López Valles, 40; and Torrero Juan Carlos, 51.
Simultaneously, another tactical team stormed the residence of the alleged cartel kingpin, Anochili Innocent, located at No. 8 Tafawa Balewa Street, Golf Estate, Lakowe, Lekki, Lagos, where he was arrested.
According to Marwa, a search of the residence led to the recovery of the international passports and mobile phones belonging to the three Mexican nationals, allegedly linking the suspect directly to their importation and activities in Nigeria.
The NDLEA boss further disclosed that follow-up operations on May 18 led operatives to another property allegedly owned by the cartel leader at House 70, Close 3, Mayfair Estate, Lakowe, Lekki, where another suspect, Kingsley Orike Omonughwa, 44, was arrested.
Investigators subsequently raided the residence of another syndicate member, Emeka Nwobum, whose property was allegedly being used as a strategic stash house for the cartel.
The latest arrests brought the total number of suspects in custody to 10, including the alleged drug baron, the three Mexican meth specialists and six Nigerian collaborators.
Providing details of exhibits recovered, Marwa said the agency deployed specialised chemical and forensic teams to analyse and secure substances found at the laboratory.
“The operation yielded a massive 2,419.48 kilograms of chemical materials, including highly toxic volatile and crystallised methamphetamine worth 362.9 million dollars in the international market,” he said.
He added that the seizure was valued at over N480 billion in Nigerian currency and represented one of the largest methamphetamine recoveries in the country’s history.
“To put this in perspective, the 2,419.48 kilograms of finished and liquid methamphetamine seized represents millions of street doses that would have flooded local communities and international markets, causing untold destruction, psychosis and violence,” Marwa stated.
The NDLEA also recovered a Toyota Tacoma vehicle allegedly used for operations at the forest laboratory, as well as a Toyota Highlander linked to the cartel kingpin.
Marwa warned that Nigeria had become a hostile environment for drug cartels and vowed that the agency would continue to track down criminal networks regardless of where they operate.
“We are fully aware of the shifting tactics of these cartels, including the disturbing trend of hiring South American cartel specialists to establish production factories in rural communities,” he said.
“Let it be known that no matter how deep into the bush you hide, no matter how secure your gated estate is, the NDLEA will hunt you down, disrupt your networks and seize your ill-gotten wealth.”
The NDLEA chairman commended the agency’s Special Operations Unit and forensic teams for what he described as extraordinary bravery and professionalism during the operation.
He also urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities, noting that the Ogun forest laboratory had been operating under the guise of a regular farm.
“This war is for the soul of our nation, and we will not back down until we achieve a drug-free Nigeria,” Marwa added.
