NDLEA Dismantles Secret Meth Lab in Oyo Forest, Arrests Mexican National and Four Nigerians

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered and dismantled a large-scale clandestine methamphetamine production facility hidden deep within a forest in Oyo State, leading to the arrest of a Mexican national and four Nigerian suspects allegedly involved in the operation.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), disclosed the development on Wednesday through the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

According to the agency, the illicit drug laboratory was discovered during a targeted operation carried out by NDLEA tactical teams on June 17 at Tapa Village in Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State. Investigators described the facility as a sophisticated and heavily secured production site believed to have been operated by an international drug trafficking network.

Among those arrested was 56-year-old Mexican citizen Jose Villa Ochoa, who authorities believe was brought into Nigeria to provide technical expertise for the manufacture of methamphetamine. The other suspects taken into custody were identified as Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43.

Marwa said the presence of the foreign suspect highlights the increasing involvement of international criminal syndicates in Nigeria’s illicit drug trade, particularly in the local production of synthetic narcotics.

The NDLEA chief noted that the operation marks another major breakthrough in the agency’s efforts to combat organized drug trafficking networks operating across national borders. He added that the laboratory had the capacity for large-scale methamphetamine production, posing a serious threat to public health and national security.

Following the raid, specialists from the agency’s Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring visited the site on June 18 to conduct a comprehensive forensic assessment and gather evidence for ongoing investigations.

Authorities said further inquiries are underway to identify other members of the syndicate and uncover the full extent of the network’s activities within and outside Nigeria.

The latest discovery comes amid growing concerns over the involvement of foreign drug experts in clandestine drug production operations across the country, a trend security agencies say underscores the increasingly transnational nature of organized drug crime.