Nigeria’s anti-narcotics agency, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), says it has dismantled a sophisticated Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine production syndicate after a series of coordinated raids uncovered what authorities described as the largest clandestine drug laboratory ever found in the country.
Ten suspects, including three Mexican nationals accused of providing technical expertise, were arrested during operations in southwestern Nigeria.
The operation, led by the agency, targeted a remote forest laboratory in Ogun State and properties linked to the alleged cartel leader in Lagos, according to NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa during a media briefing in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
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Marwa said the raids, carried out over 48 hours by the agency’s Special Operations Unit, dismantled an “industrial-scale” methamphetamine manufacturing network jointly operated by Nigerian traffickers and Mexican collaborators.
The main laboratory, hidden inside the Abidagba forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, was disguised as a farm, investigators said. NDLEA operatives arrested seven suspects at the site, including three Mexican nationals identified as Martinez Felix Nemecto, Jesus López Valles, and Torrero Juan Carlos, alongside four Nigerian collaborators.
Simultaneously, another tactical team arrested alleged cartel leader Anochili Innocent at his residence in the Lekki district of Lagos. Investigators said searches of the property uncovered the passports and mobile phones of the Mexican suspects, which authorities say directly linked him to the recruitment and management of the foreign operatives.
Follow-up raids on properties in Lagos on May 18 led to the arrest of two additional suspects, bringing the total number of detainees to ten, including the alleged kingpin, the Mexican nationals, and six Nigerian collaborators now in NDLEA custody.
According to the agency, officers seized 2,419.48 kilograms of chemical materials, including crystallised and liquid methamphetamine, precursor chemicals, and industrial solvents. The NDLEA estimated the haul’s international street value at approximately $362.9 million, or more than 480 billion naira.
“To put this in perspective, the 2,419.48 kilograms of finished and liquid methamphetamine seized represents millions of street doses that would have flooded our local communities and international markets, causing untold destruction, psychosis, and violence,” Marwa said.
The NDLEA described the seizure as one of the largest anti-drug operations in West Africa, underscoring growing concerns among international law enforcement agencies that global narcotics syndicates are shifting methamphetamine production into regions with vast rural terrain and expanding criminal networks.
The latest operation follows another recent multinational crackdown involving the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and European law enforcement agencies targeting a separate Nigerian-led trafficking network allegedly headed by Simon Amadi.
Marwa warned that the NDLEA would intensify efforts against drug syndicates operating in Nigeria and accused international cartels of attempting to expand their manufacturing footprint in the region.
“We are fully aware of the shifting tactics of these cartels, including the disturbing trend of hiring South American cartel specialists to set up production factories in our rural communities,” he said.
He added that no matter how deep into the bush you hide, no matter how secure your gated estate is, the NDLEA will hunt you down, disrupt your networks, and seize your ill-gotten wealth.
