The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, says it has shut down an industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State and arrested a Mexican drug kingpin who was trying to leave Nigeria.

Chairman of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, Rtd, announced the breakthrough in Lagos on Monday, September 15, 2026. He was represented by the Director of Media, Femi Babafemi.

According to the agency, 56-year-old Arturo Carrera Loaiza was picked up on August 19, 2026 at the Lagos airport while attempting to flee. Investigation revealed that Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10, 2026 alongside another Mexican national.

During questioning, Loaiza told NDLEA operatives that he was invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian identified only as “Henry” for a restaurant business. He denied any link to drug manufacturing.

But NDLEA said digital and forensic evidence contradicted his claim. Operatives recovered photographs showing Loaiza in a blue laboratory coat standing beside equipment used in meth production. The location data in the images traced the site to a building under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State, linked to one John Samuel Ivo Okike.

On August 30, 2026, NDLEA stormed the property. Workers at the site told operatives about a strange structure erected over the septic tank area and complained of strong chemical smells. A CCTV memory card found at the location proved critical.

Footage from August 21, 2026 at about 9pm showed Loaiza on the premises in a lab coat. It also captured John Okike directing the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment out of the building.

Acting on further intelligence, NDLEA tracked the relocated items to an isolated house in a nearby community kept by one Nwanja Obasi. A raid on the house led to the recovery of a large stash of meth-related materials.

Items recovered include a sieve containing loose methamphetamine, three empty dehydrators, 442.8kg of Acetone, 200kg of P2B, 37.1kg of Toluene, 31.5kg of Hydrochloric acid, and other chemicals. Equipment such as condensing units, reaction pots, mixers, weighing scales, drums and a blue lab coat matching the one in the photos were also seized.

Marwa said the combination of CCTV footage, forensic analysis and eyewitness accounts has strengthened the case against everyone linked to the syndicate.

The NDLEA boss warned that Nigeria will not be used as a base by transnational drug cartels. He noted that this bust comes shortly after similar operations in Ogun and Oyo States where Mexicans and Nigerians were arrested in forest and village hideouts.

“Nigeria will not be allowed to become a haven for merchants of death who want to relocate their laboratories from other countries into our forests and rural communities,” Marwa stated.

He commended officers of the Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics and the Oyo, Ogun and Ebonyi State Commands for their professionalism.

Source: NDLEA.