NDLEA arrests Mexican meth kingpin at Lagos airport, dismantles Ebonyi lab

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a Mexican methamphetamine kingpin, Arturo Carrera Loaiza, while attempting to flee Nigeria through the Lagos airport.

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The agency also dismantled another industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State.

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A statement on Tuesday by the Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the NDLEA Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd.), disclosed this in Lagos while briefing journalists on the agency’s latest operation.

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Marwa said the operation followed months of investigation into a transnational drug network linked to clandestine laboratories uncovered in Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi states.

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He recalled that the agency had on May 16, 2026, arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun State.

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He added that on June 17, another Mexican national, 56-year-old Jose Villa Ochoa, and four Nigerian collaborators were arrested at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in a forested part of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.

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According to Marwa, investigations into the Oyo operation established that Ochoa had been recruited into Nigeria by Loaiza.

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He said international collaboration enabled NDLEA investigators to obtain a photograph of Loaiza, which Ochoa positively identified as the person who recruited and brought him into Nigeria.

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Marwa stated that intelligence also showed that Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10, 2026, alongside another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.

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He said Loaiza was subsequently tracked and arrested on August 19, 2026, while attempting to leave the country through the Lagos airport.

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” On August 19, 2026, our operatives tracked down and arrested Arturo Carrera Loaiza attempting to flee the country through the Lagos airport. During interrogation, he claimed he had been invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian contact, identified only as “Henry,” under the guise of a restaurant business venture, and denied any knowledge of methamphetamine manufacturing or involvement with the Tapa village laboratory.

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“During interrogation, he claimed he had been invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian contact, identified only as ‘Henry,’ under the guise of a restaurant business venture, and denied any knowledge of methamphetamine manufacturing or involvement with the Tapa village laboratory,” Marwa said.

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However, he said investigators recovered images of Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing among equipment consistent with methamphetamine production.

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He added that analysis of the location metadata in the images led investigators to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi, Ebonyi State.

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“On 30th August 2026, our operatives moved on the Ebonyi State property, linked to one John Samuel Ivo Okike,” he said.

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Marwa said interviews with the site engineer and caretaker revealed the construction of a suspicious temporary structure over the septic tank area at the rear of the building, as well as persistent strong chemical odours from the premises.

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He said a CCTV memory card recovered from the property provided further evidence, as footage showed a foreign national wearing a blue laboratory coat, matching Loaiza’s image, as well as repeated appearances by Okike.

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“Critically, the footage captured, at about 9:00 p.m. on 21st August 2026, the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment out of the property, with John Samuel Ivo Okike seen directing the operation alongside others assisting in the relocation,” Marwa stated.

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He said further intelligence led operatives to an isolated house in a neighbouring community where the relocated materials were kept under the custody of one Nwanja Obasi. A subsequent raid, according to him, led to the recovery of substantial quantities of methamphetamine-related chemicals, laboratory equipment and paraphernalia.

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The recovered items included 442.8kg of acetone, 37.1kg of toluene, 20kg of an acetone/bromobenzene mixture, 1.7kg of ethanol, 5.1kg of chloride salt, 31.5kg of hydrochloric acid, 200kg of P2B and 1kg of tartaric acid.

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Other items recovered included a dehydrator containing a white cloth sieve embedded with loose methamphetamine, three additional empty dehydrators, condensing units, a condenser head, a condenser, a fabricated reaction pot, an access pump, weighing scales, mixers, drums, gas burners, gloves and a blue laboratory coat.

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Marwa said the recovery, together with the CCTV footage, forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts, had strengthened the case against those linked to the network.

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He warned that the country would not become a safe haven for international drug cartels seeking to relocate their operations to Nigeria.

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“Let me be unequivocal, Nigeria will not be allowed to become a haven for transnational drug cartels seeking to relocate their laboratories from other jurisdictions into our forests and rural communities. The arrest of Arturo Carrera Loaiza and the dismantling of the Ebonyi State facility, coming so soon after the Ogun and Oyo State operations, demonstrate that this Agency’s intelligence and forensic capabilities are more than a match for these syndicates, however sophisticated they may believe themselves to be.”

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The NDLEA boss commended operatives of the Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics, and the Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi State Commands for their roles in the operations.

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He vowed that the agency would continue to pursue every lead until the full network, its financiers and local enablers were brought to justice.

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