The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a sophisticated Nigerian‑Mexican methamphetamine production syndicate, shutting down an industrial‑scale clandestine laboratory hidden in a remote forest in the Ijebu area of Ogun State.
In a coordinated operation by the Agency’s Special Operations Unit (SOU), NDLEA operatives arrested the cartel’s kingpin, three Mexican technical experts and six local collaborators, and recovered methamphetamine and precursor chemicals valued at about N480 billion, the largest seizure of its kind in Nigeria’s history.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Brig‑Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) disclosed the operation at a media briefing at the Agency’s Abuja headquarters on Wednesday, May 20, 2026.
Marwa said the raids followed months of meticulous intelligence work and were executed in simultaneous strikes across Ogun and Lagos states within 48 hours last week.
He described the laboratory as the most sophisticated ever uncovered in the country, capable of producing meth at industrial scale. The operation, led by the SOU, involved elite operatives who moved quickly to dismantle the facility and secure the suspects and evidence.
Marwa warned transnational crime networks that Nigeria is no longer a safe haven for illicit trade. “Nigeria is now a hostile country for your criminal business,” he said, addressing cartels and their backers directly. He also praised the operatives for their professionalism and stressed the NDLEA’s continued commitment to disrupting drug production and trafficking networks.
The Agency says investigations and forensic analyses are ongoing, and that the arrested suspects will be charged as authorities pursue further leads on the syndicate’s domestic and international links.
According to him, “barely two weeks ago, we announced the successful takedown of a high-profile Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) headed by Simon Amadi in a complex, multi-country operation involving the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Swiss, French, and the Greek law enforcement agencies. Today, I am proud to announce that the NDLEA has struck another crippling blow to the heart of transnational organized crime.
“Through a clinical, simultaneous operation executed by the elite operatives of our Special Operations Unit (SOU), we have successfully dismantled a sophisticated, transnational methamphetamine production syndicate run jointly by a Nigerian drug cartel and their Mexican counterparts.
“This network did not just traffic drugs; they were actively manufacturing industrial-scale quantities of highly lethal illicit substances right on our soil, threatening the national security and public health of Nigeria.
“After months of painstaking, credible intelligence, our operatives on Saturday, May 16, 2026, launched a well-coordinated, simultaneous strikes in both Ogun and Lagos States.
“The primary target was a remote farm located at Abidagba forest, in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State. This farm was being used as a massive, highly dangerous clandestine methamphetamine laboratory by the Anochili Innocent Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO).
“Simultaneously, another tactical team closed in on the mastermind’s luxury fortress at No. 8 Tafawa Balewa Street, Golf Estate, Lakowe, Lekki area of Lagos State, the residence of the drug baron, Anochili Innocent.
“At the farm in the Ijebu forest, our operatives overran the clandestine laboratory in Ogun State, securing the perimeter and catching the syndicates completely off-guard. At this laboratory, we apprehended seven (7) key members of the cartel processing illicit substances.
“Most notably, the operation confirms our intelligence regarding the importation of foreign technical expertise by local cartels. Among those arrested are three (3) Mexican nationals brought into the country specifically to cook this deadly substance, alongside four (4) Nigerian collaborators.
“The suspects arrested in the forest lab are: Nwankwo Sunday Christian, 41; Igwe Abuchi Remijus, 42; Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua, 23; and Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor, 38; as well as the three Mexican meth experts: Martinez Felix Nemecto, 46; Jesus López Valles, 40; and Torrero Juan Carlos, 51.
“Simultaneously, another tactical team closed in on the luxury residence of the cartel's mastermind, Anochili Innocent, located at No. 8 Tafawa Balewa Street, Golf Estate, Lakowe, Lekki area of Lagos State. The drug baron was cornered and arrested.
“A meticulous search of his premises led to the recovery of the international passports and mobile phones of the three arrested Mexican cooks, directly linking him to the importation and management of the foreign criminals.”
Not done with the dismantling of the drug cartel, Marwa disclosed that relentless follow-up operations on Monday, May 18, 2026, led NDLEA operatives to another property owned by the baron at House 70, Close 3, Mayfair Estate, Lakowe, Lekki, Lagos, where another key member of the syndicate, Kingsley Orike Omonughwa, 44, was arrested after which investigators stormed the residence of another syndicate member, Emeka Nwobum, whose property served as the cartel's strategic stash house.
The arrest, according to the press statement, brings to 10 the total number of cartel members, including the baron, the three Mexican specialists, and six Nigerian collaborators, who are currently in NDLEA custody.
Providing further details of the operation, the NDLEA boss said “I equally directed the deployment of our specialized Chemical and Forensic Team to the clandestine laboratory to test, weigh, and secure the chemical components. The sheer volume of dangerous precursor chemicals, industrial solvents, and finished products recovered is staggering.
“The operation yielded a massive 2,419.48 kilograms (over 2.4 tons) of chemical materials, including highly toxic, volatile, and crystallized methamphetamine worth Three Hundred and Sixty-Two Million, Nine Hundred and Twenty-Two Thousand Dollars ($362,922,000.00) in the international market.
This translates to over Four Hundred and Eighty Billion Naira (N480,000,000,000.00). Imagine this humongous amount in the control of criminal elements!
Also recovered from the cartel include: a Toyota Tacoma vehicle used for operations at the clandestine meth laboratory, and a Toyota Highlander seized from the kingpin's residence.
“To put this in perspective, the 2,419.48 kilograms of finished and liquid methamphetamine seized represents millions of street doses that would have flooded our local communities and international markets, causing untold destruction, psychosis, and violence.”
Marwa noted that the dismantling of the Anochili Innocent DTO, coming directly on the heels of the Simon Amadi cartel takedown, sends an unequivocal, resounding message to drug barons both locally and internationally that Nigeria is a hostile territory for their business, warning that the Agency will continue to hunt them down wherever they are located.
“We are fully aware of the shifting tactics of these cartels, including the disturbing trend of hiring South American cartel specialists to set up production factories in our rural communities. Let it be known that 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”, Marwa warned.
While appreciating the support from international partners to keep Nigeria and the global community safe from the criminal activities of drug cartels, he commended “the extraordinary bravery, professionalism, and precision of the NDLEA SOU operatives and our Chemical and Forensic Team. Nigeria owes you all a debt of gratitude.”
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant adding that the forest lab in Ogun State was operating under the guise of a regular farm. “Report suspicious activities, strange chemical odours, or unusual movements in your localities. This war is for the soul of our nation, and we will not back down until we achieve a drug-free Nigeria”, he added.
0 comments:
Post a Comment