NDLEA uncovers forest meth lab in Oyo, arrests Mexican, four Nigerians

By Tolulope Oke

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered a multi-billion-naira methamphetamine laboratory hidden inside a forest in Oyo State, arresting a Mexican national and four Nigerians allegedly linked to the illicit operation.

The agency said the laboratory, located in Tapa Village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of the state, was an industrial-scale clandestine facility allegedly operated by a transnational drug syndicate.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), disclosed this on Wednesday during a press briefing in Abuja.

Marwa, who was represented by the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said the operation was carried out on June 17 after what he described as credible intelligence.

The NDLEA identified the arrested Mexican national as 56-year-old Jose Villa Ochoa, who was alleged to have been recruited to provide technical expertise for the production of methamphetamine.

The four Nigerian suspects were identified as Maxwell Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43.

Marwa said the arrest of the foreign suspect showed the international dimension of the drug trade and the growing attempt by cartels to establish production bases in Nigeria.

“The arrest of a foreign cartel specialist on Nigerian soil underscores the transnational nature of this threat, but more importantly, it underscores our agency’s world-class intelligence capability to track, intercept and neutralise them,” he said.

According to Marwa, NDLEA tactical operatives stormed the facility after intelligence revealed that a sophisticated methamphetamine production site was operating deep inside the forest.

He said the laboratory was not a small or crude set-up, but a heavily organised production facility equipped for large-scale drug manufacturing.

“Today, we are proud to announce that our operatives, acting on credible intelligence, have struck another decisive blow deeper into the heart of yet another cartel,” Marwa said.

“Tactical operatives of the NDLEA stormed the highly fortified industrial-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory operating deep within the forest of Tapa Village.

“This is not a rudimentary set-up; it was a sophisticated, highly organised transnational syndicate.”

Marwa said forensic experts deployed to the site uncovered what he described as a massive factory-level production line.

He said the laboratory contained large quantities of precursor chemicals, industrial catalysts and heavy-duty equipment allegedly used for the production of methamphetamine.

Among the items recovered were drums of chemical substances, crystalline materials suspected to be methamphetamine, caustic soda, sulphuric acid, tartaric acid, aluminium foil, reactor equipment, distillation units, mixers, condensers and drying machines.

The NDLEA chairman said field tests conducted by forensic experts confirmed the presence of methamphetamine in samples recovered from the facility.

“Samples of the finished crystals recovered yielded a definitive positive result for methamphetamine,” he said.

He added that the recovered substances had been evacuated, documented and preserved for use as evidence in court.

Marwa said the Oyo discovery came barely four weeks after the NDLEA dismantled another large methamphetamine laboratory in Ogun State.

He said the proximity of both operations raised concern over what he described as a desperate attempt by drug barons to turn the South-West into a synthetic drug production hub.

“The proximity of this discovery to the Ogun State lab uncovered about four weeks ago reveals a desperate attempt by drug barons to establish a synthetic drug manufacturing hub in the South-West axis,” he said.

“They thought hiding in dense forests would shield them from the long arm of the law. They were indeed very wrong.”

The NDLEA boss warned local and international drug syndicates that Nigeria would not be allowed to become a safe base for their operations.

He said the agency would continue to track traffickers and dismantle their networks wherever they operate.

“Let the message go out clearly to all drug cartels, domestic and international, that Nigeria is not and will never be a safe haven for your illicit trade,” Marwa said.

“We will find you in the cities, we will track you into the forests, and we will dismantle your infrastructure of death.”

Marwa commended NDLEA officers involved in the operation, especially personnel of the Oyo State Command, for what he described as their gallantry, professionalism and dedication.

He also thanked members of the public for providing credible intelligence that assisted the agency in carrying out the operation.

“To the Nigerian public, we say thank you for your cooperation, for your trust, and credible information. Together, we are securing the future of our nation,” he said.

The latest raid follows a similar operation in Ogun State, where the NDLEA uncovered another industrial-scale methamphetamine production facility concealed in a forest in the Ijebu area.

That operation led to the seizure of more than 2.4 tonnes of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals, as well as the arrest of three Mexican nationals and four Nigerian suspects.