NDLEA Strikes Again Alleged Mexican Drug Kingpin Arrested, Secret Ebonyi Lab Exposed

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the dismantling of another industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory and the arrest of a Mexican national described as a major figure in an international drug network while allegedly attempting to leave Nigeria through the Lagos airport.

According to Bush Radio Academy, the latest breakthrough followed months of investigation by the anti-narcotics agency into a wider criminal network suspected of establishing clandestine drug laboratories in different parts of the country.

The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), disclosed the development during a media briefing in Lagos on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. He was represented at the briefing by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

Marwa recalled that NDLEA operatives had earlier arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest location in Ogun State on May 16, 2026.

The agency subsequently arrested another Mexican national and four Nigerian collaborators on June 17 at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory concealed within a forested area of Tapa village in Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State. Field tests conducted at the location reportedly confirmed the presence of substantial quantities of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals.

According to the NDLEA, investigations conducted by its Special Operations Unit following the Oyo State operation established that 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine expert Jose Villa Ochoa, who was arrested at the forest laboratory, had allegedly been recruited into Nigeria by a Mexican national identified as Arturo Carrera Loaiza.

The agency said its investigators, working with international partners, obtained a photograph of Loaiza, which Ochoa reportedly identified as the individual who recruited him and facilitated his movement into Nigeria.

Further intelligence reportedly indicated that Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10, 2026, alongside another Mexican national identified as Jose Ceballos Perez.

The NDLEA said its operatives eventually tracked Loaiza and arrested him on August 19, 2026, while he was allegedly attempting to leave Nigeria through the Lagos airport.

During interrogation, Loaiza reportedly claimed that a Nigerian contact known only as “Henry” had invited him to the country under the pretext of pursuing a restaurant business. He also denied having any knowledge of methamphetamine production or involvement in the laboratory discovered in Tapa village.

However, the agency said evidence gathered during the investigation contradicted his account. Investigators reportedly recovered photographs showing Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing beside equipment believed to be associated with methamphetamine production.

The NDLEA said analysis of location data embedded in the photographs provided investigators with a new lead, directing them to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State.

On August 30, 2026, operatives reportedly raided the property, which the agency linked to an individual identified as John Samuel Ivo Okike.

Interviews with people found at the location, including a site engineer and a caretaker, allegedly revealed the construction of a suspicious temporary structure over the septic tank area at the rear of the property. Investigators were also reportedly alerted to persistent strong chemical odours emanating from the premises.

The development forms part of the NDLEA’s broader investigation into suspected international drug trafficking networks and the establishment of clandestine laboratories in Nigeria.