NDLEA Busts Nigerian–Mexican Meth Cartel, Seizes 2.4 Tons

Abuja — The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Wednesday announced the dismantling of a sophisticated transnational methamphetamine production network operating in Ogun and Lagos states, seizing what the agency described as the largest methamphetamine haul ever recovered in Nigeria.

In a briefing at NDLEA headquarters, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) said elite operatives from the Agency’s Special Operations Unit (SOU) executed coordinated strikes over a 48-hour period following months of targeted intelligence work. The raids, carried out last weekend and during follow-up operations, led to the arrest of 10 suspects, including the cartel’s alleged leader and three Mexican nationals identified as technical experts.

“The operation completely dismantled an industrial-scale clandestine laboratory hidden in a remote forest in the Ijebu area of Ogun State,” Marwa said. “The syndicate was jointly run by a Nigerian drug cartel and Mexican specialists who were imported to provide technical expertise.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Arrested at the forest lab were four Nigerians — Nwankwo Sunday Christian, 41; Igwe Abuchi Remijus, 42; Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua, 23; and Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor, 38 — together with three Mexican nationals, named as Martinez Felix Nemecto, 46; Jesus López Valles, 40; and Torrero Juan Carlos, 51. The agency later arrested two other key Nigerian suspects, Kingsley Orike Omonughwa, 44, and Emeka Nwobum, following searches of properties linked to the cartel.

Marwa said operatives also moved on the Lagos stronghold of the cartel’s alleged kingpin, identified as Anochili Innocent, arresting him at his residence in the upscale Lakowe/Golf Estate area. Investigators recovered international passports and mobile phones linking the Mexican specialists to the kingpin, the NDLEA boss added.

The most striking recovery, Marwa said, was 2,419.48 kilograms — over 2.4 tonnes — of methamphetamine in finished and liquid form, together with large volumes of precursor chemicals and industrial solvents used in production. The agency estimates the international street value of the seizure at $362.922 million (about N480 billion).

“To put this in perspective, the quantity seized represents millions of street doses that would have been distributed locally and abroad,” Marwa warned, describing the operation as a major blow against transnational organized crime in Nigeria. Vehicles used by the syndicate, including a Toyota Tacoma seized at the forest lab and a Toyota Highlander recovered from the kingpin’s residence, were also impounded.

NDLEA said the forest laboratory was concealed behind a legitimate-looking farm at Abidagba forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area. The agency’s Chemical and Forensic Team has been deployed to test and secure the chemicals and evidence recovered at the site.

The arrests follow a separate high-profile takedown announced by the NDLEA just two weeks earlier, in which a different drug trafficking organisation led by a suspect named Simon Amadi was dismantled in a multi-country investigation involving the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and European law-enforcement partners.

Marwa described the latest operation as proof of a disturbing trend: local syndicates recruiting South American and Mexican technical experts to set up production hubs in rural Nigerian communities. “No matter how deep into the bush you hide, no matter how secure your gated estate is, the NDLEA will hunt you down, disrupt your networks, and seize your ill-gotten wealth,” he said.

He commended the professionalism and bravery of SOU operatives and forensic teams and thanked international partners for support. The NDLEA urged citizens to remain vigilant and to report unusual activity, including chemical smells or suspicious movements in their communities.

As investigations continue, the suspects remain in NDLEA custody while forensic analysis of the recovered substances and precursor chemicals progresses. The agency said it would pursue all leads to dismantle remaining elements of the syndicate and disrupt their international supply chains.