The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has announced the dismantling of a large-scale methamphetamine production laboratory hidden inside a forest in Ogun State.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said the operation led to the recovery of more than 2.4 tonnes of methamphetamine and chemical substances valued at over $362 million, estimated at more than N480 billion in the international market.
According to the agency, the illegal laboratory was located in a remote part of Ijebu East Local Government Area and was allegedly operated by a Nigerian drug trafficking network in collaboration with Mexican methamphetamine specialists.
“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,” the statement read.
“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,” Babafemi added.
He explained that the operation followed months of intelligence gathering before NDLEA operatives carried out coordinated raids across Ogun and Lagos states on May 16.
“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),” he said.
Babafemi revealed that another team of operatives simultaneously stormed a residence in Lakowe, Lekki, Lagos, where the suspected cartel leader, identified as Anochili Innocent, was arrested.
“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,” the statement added.
“Among those arrested are three Mexican nationals brought into the country specifically to cook this deadly substance, alongside four Nigerian collaborators.”
The Mexican suspects were identified as Martinez Felix Nemecto, Jesus López Valles and Torrero Juan Carlos, while the Nigerian suspects arrested at the forest site included Nwankwo Sunday Christian, Igwe Abuchi Remijus, Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua and Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor.
The agency further disclosed that another suspect, Kingsley Orike Omonughwa, was later arrested at a property linked to the alleged kingpin in Lekki, while operatives also raided the residence of another suspected syndicate member, Emeka Nwobum, described as the cartel’s stash house.
According to the NDLEA, the number of suspects currently in custody has risen to 10, including the alleged leader of the syndicate, three Mexican nationals and six Nigerian collaborators.
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Providing further details, Babafemi said operatives recovered 2,419.48 kilograms of methamphetamine, precursor chemicals and industrial solvents during the operation.
“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,” he stated.
“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!”
The agency also recovered a Toyota Tacoma vehicle allegedly used for operations at the forest laboratory and a Toyota Highlander linked to the suspected cartel leader.