The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 56-year-old Mexican national identified as a suspected methamphetamine kingpin and dismantled another industrial-scale clandestine drug laboratory in Ebonyi State, exposing an alleged international network attempting to establish illicit drug production facilities in Nigeria’s forests and rural communities.
The suspect, Arturo Carrera Loaiza, was arrested by NDLEA operatives on August 19, 2026, while allegedly attempting to leave Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
The arrest followed an extensive investigation into a transnational network linked to methamphetamine laboratories previously uncovered in Ogun and Oyo states.
Briefing journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), represented by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the operation demonstrated the agency’s growing intelligence-gathering and forensic capabilities in tackling sophisticated international drug syndicates.
Marwa said investigations established that a Mexican methamphetamine expert arrested at a forest laboratory in Oyo State had allegedly been recruited into Nigeria by Loaiza.
The NDLEA had earlier arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun State on May 16.
Similarly, on June 17, operatives 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 subsequently led to the identification of Loaiza as the alleged recruiter of the Mexican national arrested at the forest laboratory.
According to the NDLEA, the suspect was positively identified from a photograph obtained by investigators working with international partners. Intelligence also indicated that Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10 alongside another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.
Loaiza reportedly claimed during interrogation that he had been invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian contact identified only as “Henry” for a restaurant business venture. However, the NDLEA said forensic evidence recovered during the investigation contradicted his account.
Investigators reportedly recovered photographs showing Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing beside equipment believed to be associated with methamphetamine production. Location metadata embedded in the images allegedly led investigators to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi, Ebonyi State.
A subsequent raid on the property on August 30, which was 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 reportedly revealed persistent strong chemical odours emanating from the premises.
According to Babafemi, the investigation took a decisive turn following the recovery of a CCTV memory card from the property.
Forensic analysis of the footage allegedly showed a foreign national wearing a blue laboratory coat similar to the one seen in Loaiza’s photograph, while Okike was also repeatedly captured in the footage.
Babafemi said the CCTV recording further captured, at about 9 p.m. on August 21, the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment from the property. Okike was allegedly seen directing the operation alongside other individuals assisting in the relocation.
Acting on intelligence from a confidential source, NDLEA operatives subsequently traced the relocated materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community, allegedly under the custody of one Nwanja Obasi.
A raid on the location led to the recovery of a substantial quantity of chemicals, equipment and paraphernalia allegedly linked to methamphetamine production.
Among the items recovered was a dehydrator containing a white cloth sieve embedded with loose methamphetamine, as well as three additional empty dehydrators.
The agency also recovered 442.8 kilogrammes of acetone, 37.1 kilogrammes of toluene, 20 kilogrammes of a 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 recovered items 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 reportedly matching the one recovered at the Okike property.
The NDLEA said the recovery, combined with CCTV footage, forensic findings and eyewitness accounts, had significantly strengthened the case against individuals allegedly connected to the network.
Issuing a stern warning to international drug cartels, Marwa declared that Nigeria would not become a safe haven for criminal syndicates seeking to relocate their laboratories from other countries.
“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 Marwa, the arrest of Loaiza and the dismantling of the Ebonyi facility, coming shortly after the operations in Ogun and Oyo states, demonstrated that the NDLEA’s intelligence and forensic capabilities were increasingly capable of matching the sophistication of international drug syndicates.
He commended officers of the Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics, as well as the Oyo, Ogun and Ebonyi State Commands, for their diligence, professionalism and courage.
Marwa further vowed that the agency would continue to pursue every available lead until the entire network, including its financiers and local collaborators, 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 to the agency through its toll-free line, 080010203040, or via info@ndlea.gov.ng.
You can get every of our news as soon as they drop on WhatsApp ...To get all news updates, Join our WhatsApp Group (Click Here)
