The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a major Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine cartel, seizing drugs and precursor chemicals valued at about N480 billion from a large clandestine laboratory hidden in a forest in Ogun State.
NDLEA Chairman, Mohamed Buba Marwa, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja, describing the operation as one of the agency’s biggest breakthroughs against transnational organised crime.
According to him, the operation—carried out by the agency’s Special Operations Unit—followed months of intelligence gathering and involved coordinated raids across Ogun and Lagos states within 48 hours.
The main target was a remote facility in Abidagba forest, located in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, where operatives uncovered what the agency described as the largest meth lab ever found in Nigeria.
Seven suspects were arrested at the site, including three Mexican nationals said to have been brought into the country as technical experts to produce methamphetamine, alongside four Nigerian collaborators.
In a parallel operation, NDLEA operatives arrested the alleged cartel leader, Anochili Innocent, at his residence in the Lekki area of Lagos. Items recovered from the property, including international passports and mobile phones, linked him to the foreign suspects.
Follow-up operations led to the arrest of additional members of the syndicate and the discovery of another property used as a stash location. In total, 10 suspects—including the kingpin, three foreign nationals and six Nigerians—are now in custody.
Marwa said the agency’s forensic team recovered over 2,400 kilograms of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals from the forest laboratory, with an estimated international street value of over $362 million.
He warned that the scale of the operation indicated a growing trend of local cartels partnering with foreign experts to establish drug production bases within Nigeria.
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“This network was not just trafficking drugs but manufacturing them on an industrial scale, posing a serious threat to national security and public health,” he said.
The NDLEA boss added that the successful takedown sends a strong message that Nigeria is no longer a safe haven for drug cartels, vowing that the agency would continue to track and dismantle such networks.
He also urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities, noting that the laboratory was disguised as a farm to evade detection.
Marwa commended the agency’s operatives and international partners for their role in the operation, describing it as a major step in the fight against drug trafficking.
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