Court to rule on NDLEA bid to destroy ₦480bn meth lab Friday

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The Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed Friday, July 24, to rule on an application by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency seeking permission to destroy a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory uncovered in a remote forest in Ogun State.

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Justice Musa Kakaki fixed the date after a special court sitting held on Wednesday at the facility in Mowe village, Ijebu East Local Government Area of the state.

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The NDLEA had on July 10 arraigned three Mexicans and seven Nigerians on an 11-count charge bordering on the alleged establishment and operation of the clandestine laboratory.n

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According to the agency, its operatives discovered equipment and chemicals allegedly used to produce 2,419.48 kilogrammes of methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of more than ₦480 billion.

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The defendants are accused of manufacturing and possessing large quantities of methamphetamine, a psychotropic substance classified alongside cocaine, heroin and LSD.

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The prosecution also alleged that the defendants managed and financed a drug trafficking network that transported precursor chemicals from Lagos to the remote laboratory.

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The chemicals allegedly included toluene, phenyl-2-propanone, phenylacetic acid, acetone and hydrochloric acid.

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The NDLEA further alleged that the defendants unlawfully possessed 358 kilogrammes of toluene, 1,834 kilogrammes of hydrochloric acid and 22.5 kilogrammes of acetone, allegedly intended for methamphetamine production.

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The defendants, who all pleaded not guilty to the charges, are also accused of transporting the substances in vehicles, including a Toyota Tacoma, a Mercedes-Benz with registration number APP 942 YL and a Toyota Highlander marked GWA 662 DJ.

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According to Channels TV, at Wednesday’s proceedings, the prosecution called its first witness, a clandestine laboratory expert, Ajilema Anebi.

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Anebi told the court that substances recovered from the laboratory, where the second to eighth defendants were arrested, were used in the production and storage of large quantities of methamphetamine allegedly intended for export.

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He said the substances were identified through scientific analysis conducted by him and his team.

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The witness also explained the role of alcohol and hydrochloric acid in the methamphetamine production process, including the production of benzene.

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Anebi tendered “exhibits relating to equipment and chemicals recovered from the facility, while the inventory of chemicals and equipment recovered from the laboratory had earlier been admitted in evidence.”

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During the proceedings, NDLEA prosecuting counsel, Adekunle Adebanjo, drew the courts “attention to the agency’s pending application seeking leave to destroy the facility.”

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However, defence counsel, led by Benson Ndakara, opposed aspects of the prosecution’s evidence and raised objections to some of the exhibits tendered before the court.

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After hearing submissions from both sides, Justice Kakaki “adjourned the matter until July 24 for a ruling on the NDLEA’s application.”

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The ruling will determine whether the agency will be allowed to destroy the clandestine laboratory, which it described as a major facility for the production of methamphetamine allegedly destined for markets outside Nigeria.

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PUNCH Online had earlier reported that the laboratory was hidden in Abidagba Forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State and was being operated by the Anochili Innocent Drug Trafficking Organisation.n

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NDLEA boss, Buba Marwa had disclosed that the lab was uncovered through coordinated and intelligence operations along Lagos and Ogun states in May 2026.

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Meth production lab isn’t one off decay in our society, also in June in another South West state of Oyo, NDLEA uncovered a multi-billion-naira clandestine methamphetamine laboratory and arrested five suspects, including a Mexican national allegedly recruited to provide technical expertise for the illicit operation.

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