Nigeria’s biggest meth lab dismantled in Ogun forest; nine arrested including three Mexicans

What was found and where

The NDLEA said the main laboratory was concealed inside Abidagba forest and described it as an industrial-scale facility capable of producing large volumes of methamphetamine destined for local and international markets. Forensic teams recovered and analysed a cache of chemical precursors and finished products weighing 2,419.48 kilograms, with an estimated international street value of about $362 million (approximately N480 billion).

Arrests and suspects

The agency confirmed the arrest of nine suspects, including three Mexican nationals who were allegedly brought in as chemical “cooks” alongside Nigerian collaborators. The Mexican nationals named by the NDLEA are Martinez Felix Nemecto, 46; Jesus López Valles, 40; and Torrero Juan Carlos, 51. The Nigerian suspects named include Nwankwo Sunday Christian, 41; Igwe Abuchi Remijus, 42; Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua, 23; and Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor, 38.

In a coordinated operation, NDLEA operatives also arrested an alleged cartel leader, Anochili Innocent, at a residence in the Lekki area of Lagos. Investigators recovered international passports and mobile phones linked to the foreign suspects from his home, which the agency said strengthened the case for his alleged role in coordinating the network.

Agency response and broader concerns

The NDLEA’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), said the discovery confirmed intelligence that local cartels were importing foreign technical expertise. He warned of the social harms the drugs would have caused.

“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,” Marwa said.

“Most notably, the operation confirms our intelligence regarding the importation of foreign technical expertise by local cartels. Among those arrested are three Mexican nationals brought into the country specifically to cook this deadly substance, alongside Nigerian collaborators,” he added.

Marwa also said:

“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 our local communities and international markets, causing untold destruction, psychosis, and violence.”

Regional context

The NDLEA said the operation underscores the growing sophistication of drug cartels and their use of foreign specialists to set up production hubs in rural and forested areas. The agency said it will continue to track and dismantle drug syndicates operating within the country regardless of their location or sophistication.

Related note

The discovery follows a separate report that South African police recently arrested suspects, including foreign nationals, after uncovering drugs at a manufacturing laboratory on a farm in Swarttruggens, North West.