Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have dismantled a fortified, industrial-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory run by a Nigerian-Mexican cartel in Tapa Village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area, Oyo State.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, retired Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, disclosed the breakthrough on Wednesday at a press briefing in Abuja, represented by Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
According to Babafemi, tactical operatives raided the “highly fortified” facility on Wednesday, 17th June 2026. Five key cartel members were arrested on-site: 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine expert Jose Villa Ochoa, allegedly brought in for large-scale synthesis, and four Nigerian collaborators providing logistics and local operations. The Nigerians were identified as Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43.
“This was not a rudimentary setup; it was a sophisticated, highly organized transnational syndicate,” Marwa said.
“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.”
A team from NDLEA’s Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring examined the site on 18th June and uncovered a factory-level production line. Field tests confirmed samples of finished crystals were methamphetamine.
Chemicals and materials recovered include:
Precursor chemicals: Phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), 1800-litre drums of Phenylacetic acid, Ethyl Phenylacetate, Thioglycolic Acid, Tartaric Acid, Sulphuric Acid, Caustic Soda.
Finished/illicit substances: Two 180L drums containing 300 litres of whitish crystalline substance; four 180L drums of dark liquid undergoing synthesis.
Equipment: One reactor pot, two mounted distillation units, three fabricated mixers and condensers, two vegetable dehydrator machines for drying crystals, plus 25 cartons of aluminum foil.
“Every single gram of these exhibits has been safely evacuated, documented, and preserved for comprehensive and strict evidential presentation in court,” Babafemi said. “This is yet another multibillion-naira worth of illicit substances and production equipment ready to push millions of doses of synthetic drugs into our streets.”
Marwa noted the Oyo lab was uncovered barely four weeks after a similar massive meth lab was dismantled in Ijebu East forest, Ogun State, indicating a desperate attempt by drug barons to establish a synthetic drug manufacturing hub in the Southwest.
“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,” he warned.
He commended the Oyo Command operatives for their “gallantry, dedication, and clinical professionalism” and thanked Nigerians for credible information.
All suspects remain in custody and will be charged in court, NDLEA said.
