Michael Olugbode in Abuja
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Mexican methamphetamine kingpin attempting to flee Nigeria and dismantled another industrial-scale clandestine laboratory, exposing an expanding international network seeking to establish drug production facilities in the country’s forests and rural communities.
The suspect, identified as 56-year-old Arturo Carrera Loaiza, was arrested by NDLEA operatives on August 19, 2026, while attempting to leave Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
The breakthrough followed a painstaking investigation into a network linked to methamphetamine laboratories uncovered in Ogun and Oyo States, which subsequently led investigators to a property in Ebonyi State where laboratory equipment and precursor chemicals were allegedly moved under cover of darkness.
Briefing journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd.), represented by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the latest operation demonstrated the agency’s growing intelligence and forensic capacity to dismantle sophisticated transnational drug syndicates.
Marwa said the arrest of Loaiza and the dismantling of the Ebonyi facility came after operatives established that a Mexican methamphetamine expert arrested at a forest laboratory in Oyo State had been recruited into Nigeria by the kingpin.
The NDLEA had earlier arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun State on May 16.
On June 17, operatives also arrested another Mexican national and four Nigerian collaborators at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory concealed in a forested area of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Investigations by the agency’s Special Operations Unit (SOU) into the Oyo operation led to the identification of Loaiza as the alleged recruiter of the Mexican national arrested at the forest laboratory.
According to the agency, the suspect positively identified Loaiza from a photograph obtained by investigators working with international partners. Intelligence also showed that Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10 alongside another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.
Although Loaiza allegedly claimed during interrogation that he had been invited into Nigeria by a Nigerian contact known only as “Henry” for a restaurant business venture, the NDLEA said forensic evidence contradicted his account.
Investigators reportedly recovered images of Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing amid equipment consistent with methamphetamine production. Location metadata embedded in the images led operatives to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi, Ebonyi State.
A raid on the property on August 30, linked to one John Okike, uncovered evidence suggesting that a temporary structure had been erected over the septic tank area at the rear of the building. Interviews with the site engineer and caretaker also revealed persistent strong chemical odours emanating from the premises.
Babafemi said that the investigation took a decisive turn after operatives recovered a CCTV memory card from the property. Forensic analysis allegedly showed a foreign national in a blue laboratory coat matching Loaiza’s image, as well as repeated appearances by Okike.
He revealed that the footage also captured, at about 9 p.m. on August 21, the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment from the property, with Okike allegedly directing the operation alongside other persons assisting in the relocation.
The spokesman said acting on intelligence from a confidential source, NDLEA operatives traced the relocated materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community, allegedly under the custody of one Nwanja Obasi.
He said the raid on the location led to the recovery of a substantial cache of methamphetamine-related chemicals, equipment and paraphernalia, including a dehydrator containing a white cloth sieve embedded with loose methamphetamine and three additional empty dehydrators.
The agency also recovered 442.8 kilogrammes of acetone, 37.1 kilogrammes of toluene, a 20-kilogramme mixture of acetone and bromobenzene, 1.7 kilogrammes of ethanol, 5.1 kilogrammes of chloride salt, 31.5 kilogrammes of hydrochloric acid, 200 kilogrammes of P2B and one kilogramme of tartaric acid.
Other items recovered included condensing units, a condenser head, a condenser, a fabricated reaction pot, an access pump, weighing scales, mixers, drums, gas burners, gloves and a blue laboratory coat matching the one recovered at the Okike property.
The NDLEA said the recovery, when considered alongside the CCTV footage, forensic findings and eyewitness accounts, had significantly strengthened the case against persons linked to the network.
Issuing a stern warning to international drug cartels, Marwa said Nigeria would not be allowed to become a base for criminal syndicates seeking to relocate their laboratories from other jurisdictions.
“Let me be unequivocal, Nigeria will not be allowed to become a haven for transnational drug cartels seeking to relocate their laboratories from other jurisdictions into our forests and rural communities,” he said.
According to him, the arrest of Loaiza and the dismantling of the Ebonyi facility, coming shortly after the Ogun and Oyo operations, showed that the agency’s intelligence and forensic capabilities were capable of matching the sophistication of international drug syndicates.
Marwa commended officers of the Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics and the Oyo, Ogun and Ebonyi State Commands for their diligence, professionalism and courage.
He vowed that the agency would continue to pursue every lead until the full network, including its financiers and local enablers, was brought to justice.
The NDLEA also urged Nigerians, particularly residents of rural and forested communities, to report suspicious activities, unusual chemical odours and unfamiliar structures through its toll-free line, 080010203040, or by email at info@ndlea.gov.ng.