The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered and dismantled a sprawling industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory hidden deep inside a forest in Oyo State, arresting a Mexican national and four Nigerians in what authorities described as a major breakthrough against transnational drug trafficking networks operating in the country.
The clandestine facility, located in Tapa Village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State, was raided by NDLEA operatives on June 17 following intelligence-led operations targeting synthetic drug production syndicates. The latest discovery comes barely a month after the agency dismantled another large-scale methamphetamine laboratory concealed in a forest in Ijebu East, Ogun State, raising fresh concerns about efforts by drug cartels to establish the South-West region as a hub for synthetic drug manufacturing.
Speaking at a press briefing at the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, the agency’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), represented by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the operation exposed a highly sophisticated transnational drug network operating within Nigeria.
According to Marwa, the facility was far from a makeshift operation, describing it as a fully equipped industrial-scale laboratory designed for large-scale methamphetamine production.
“This was not a rudimentary setup; it was a sophisticated, highly organized transnational syndicate,” Marwa said.
He disclosed that five key suspects were arrested during the raid, including 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine specialist Jose Villa Ochoa, who was allegedly recruited to provide technical expertise for the illicit operation. The other suspects arrested were identified as Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43, all Nigerians believed to have handled logistics, local operations and cover for the cartel.
Marwa said the arrest of a foreign drug manufacturing expert highlights the growing international dimension of drug trafficking activities in Nigeria and demonstrates the agency’s intelligence-gathering capabilities.
“The arrest of a foreign cartel specialist on Nigerian soil underscores the transnational nature of this threat, but more importantly, it underscores our Agency’s world-class intelligence capability to track, intercept, and neutralize them,” he stated.
Following the raid, NDLEA forensic and chemical monitoring experts conducted a detailed examination of the facility on June 18, uncovering what officials described as a factory-level production line for synthetic narcotics. Investigators recovered large quantities of precursor chemicals used in methamphetamine production, including drums of Phenylacetic Acid and Phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), both key ingredients in the manufacture of methamphetamine.
The agency also seized hundreds of litres of chemical substances undergoing synthesis, industrial quantities of caustic soda, sulphuric acid, tartaric acid and other chemical compounds, alongside sophisticated processing equipment such as reactor pots, distillation units, mixers, condensers and drying machines.
Marwa revealed that immediate field tests conducted on substances recovered from the laboratory confirmed the presence of methamphetamine and precursor materials used in its production.
“What they uncovered is a massive, factory-level production line of poison,” he said.
He added that all exhibits recovered from the site had been secured and documented as evidence for prosecution, describing the haul as another multi-billion-naira drug operation prevented from flooding Nigerian communities and international markets with illicit substances.
The NDLEA boss expressed concern over the proximity of the Oyo laboratory to the recently dismantled Ogun facility, warning that drug syndicates appear to be intensifying efforts to establish a network of synthetic drug factories across the South-West.
“The proximity of this latest discovery to the Ogun State lab uncovered about four weeks ago reveals a desperate attempt by drug barons to establish a synthetic drug manufacturing hub in the Southwest axis,” he said.
Marwa also issued a stern warning to local and international drug traffickers, insisting that no location within Nigeria would remain beyond the reach of law enforcement agencies.
“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 declared.
He commended the officers of the NDLEA Oyo State Command who participated in the operation, praising their professionalism and dedication. Marwa also thanked members of the public for providing credible intelligence that continues to support the agency’s anti-drug campaign.
The latest operation marks one of the most significant drug enforcement successes recorded by the NDLEA in recent months and underscores growing efforts by authorities to disrupt organised criminal networks involved in the manufacture and distribution of dangerous synthetic narcotics across Nigeria.
