The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Tuesday, September 15, announced the dismantling of an industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi state and the arrest of a Mexican drug kingpin, Arturo Carrera Loaiza, while attempting to flee Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), said the breakthrough followed months of investigation into a wider criminal network behind a series of clandestine drug laboratories uncovered in parts of the country.
Marwa, who was represented by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, recalled that NDLEA operatives had earlier arrested three Mexicans and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun state on May 16.
He said another Mexican and four Nigerian collaborators were arrested on June 17 at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory hidden in a forested part of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo state.
According to him, field tests conducted at the Oyo laboratory confirmed the presence of large quantities of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals.
Marwa said investigations by the agency’s Special Operations Unit into the Oyo state operation established that 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine expert Jose Villa Ochoa, who was arrested at the forest laboratory, had been recruited into Nigeria by Loaiza.
He said NDLEA investigators, working with international partners, obtained a photograph of Loaiza, which Ochoa positively identified as the man who recruited and brought him into Nigeria.
Intelligence further showed that Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10 alongside another Mexican, Jose Ceballos.
The NDLEA chairman said operatives tracked and arrested Loaiza on August 19, while he was attempting to flee Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
During interrogation, Loaiza claimed that he had been invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian contact identified only as Henry under the guise of a restaurant business venture.
He also denied knowledge of methamphetamine manufacturing or involvement in the Tapa village laboratory.
However, the NDLEA said its investigation uncovered evidence linking him to methamphetamine production.
According to the agency, investigators recovered images showing Loaiza dressed in a blue laboratory coat and standing amid equipment consistent with methamphetamine production.
Analysis of the location metadata embedded in the images led operatives to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi state.
On August 30, NDLEA operatives moved to the Ebonyi property, which was linked to John Samuel Ivo Okike.
Interviews with people found at the site, including the site engineer and a 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.
The agency said a CCTV memory card recovered from the property provided further evidence linking the site to the suspected drug operation.
Forensic analysis of the footage showed a foreigner wearing a blue laboratory coat on the premises, matching the image of Loaiza earlier recovered by investigators.
The footage also showed repeated appearances by Okike and captured, at about 9pm on August 21, the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment from the property.
The NDLEA said Okike was seen directing the operation alongside others assisting in the relocation of the materials.
Acting on further intelligence from a confidential source, operatives traced the relocated materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community, where they were kept under the custody of Nwanja Obasi.
A raid on the location led to the recovery of a substantial cache of methamphetamine-related chemicals, equipment and paraphernalia.
The recovered items included a dehydrator containing a white cloth sieve embedded with loose methamphetamine, additional empty dehydrators, acetone, toluene, an acetone/bromobenzene mixture, ethanol, chloride salt, hydrochloric acid, P2B and tartaric acid.
Other items recovered were 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 matching the one recovered at the John Samuel property.
The agency said the recovery, combined with CCTV footage, forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts, had strengthened the case against persons connected to the network.
Marwa warned that Nigeria would not be allowed to become a safe haven for transnational drug cartels seeking to relocate their laboratories into the country’s forests and rural communities.
He said the arrest of Loaiza and the dismantling of the Ebonyi facility, following the earlier operations in Ogun and Oyo states, demonstrated the agency’s intelligence and forensic capabilities in tackling sophisticated drug syndicates.
The NDLEA chairman commended officers of the Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics and the Oyo, Ogun and Ebonyi State Commands for their diligence, professionalism and courage.
He vowed that the agency would continue pursuing every lead until the wider network, including its financiers and local enablers, were brought to justice.
The agency also urged Nigerians, particularly residents of rural and forested communities, to report suspicious activities, unusual chemical odours and unfamiliar structures to the NDLEA through its toll-free line, or by email.
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