Nigeria’s anti-narcotics agency, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it has dismantled a sophisticated Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine production syndicate following a series of coordinated raids that uncovered what authorities described as the largest clandestine drug laboratory ever found in the country.
In operations in southwestern Nigeria, 10 suspects were arrested, including three Mexican nationals accused of providing technical expertise.
The agency-led operation targeted a remote forest laboratory in Ogun State and properties linked to the alleged cartel leader in Lagos, NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa said at a media briefing in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
“The raids, conducted by the agency’s Special Operations Unit over 48 hours, dismantled a ‘industrial-scale’ methamphetamine manufacturing network operated by Nigerian traffickers and Mexican collaborators, Marwa said.
“The main laboratory, it was disguised as a farm in the Abidagba forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State,” investigators said. The suspects comprising three Mexican nationals – Martinez Felix Nemecto, Jesus López Valles and Torrero Juan Carlos and four Nigerian collaborators were arrested by operatives of the NDLEA at the site.
Meanwhile, another tactical team arrested alleged cartel leader Anochili Innocent at his home in the Lekki area of Lagos. Investigators said property searches yielded the passports and mobile phones of the Mexican suspects, which authorities said directly tied him to the recruitment and management of the foreign operatives.
Further operations conducted in Lagos on 18th May resulted in the arrest of two more suspects, bringing the total arrests to ten, including the alleged kingpin, Mexican nationals and six Nigerian collaborators currently in NDLEA custody.
Officers seized 2,419.48 kilograms of chemical materials, including crystallised and liquid methamphetamine, precursor chemicals and industrial solvents, the agency said. The NDLEA said the haul had a street value of about $362.9 million or over 480 billion naira globally.
“To put this in perspective, the 2,419.48 kilograms of finished and liquid methamphetamine seized equals millions of street doses that would have inundated our local communities and international markets, wreaking untold destruction, psychosis and violence,” Marwa said.
The NDLEA said the seizure was one of the largest anti-drug operations in West Africa, amid rising fears by international law enforcement agencies that global narcotics syndicates are moving methamphetamine production to areas with vast rural spaces and expanding criminal networks.
The latest crackdown comes after another multinational operation targeting a different Nigerian-led trafficking network, allegedly headed by Simon Amadi, which included the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and European law enforcement agencies.
Marwa warned that the NDLEA will step up its campaign against drug syndicates operating in Nigeria and accused international cartels of trying to broaden their manufacturing base in the region.
“We are acutely aware of the evolving tactics of these cartels, and the disturbing trend of importing South American cartel specialists to set up production factories in our rural communities,” he stated.
“No matter how deep you hide in the bush and how secured your gated estate is, the NDLEA will hunt you down, disrupt your network and seize your ill-gotten wealth,” he said.
