Photos: NDLEA Burst Meth Laboratory In Oyo Forest, Arrests Mexican, Four Nigerians

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have uncovered and dismantled an industrial-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory operated by a suspected Nigerian-Mexican cartel in Tapa Village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.

The agency said five suspects, including a 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine expert, were arrested during the raid carried out on June 17, 2026.

The development comes barely four weeks after the NDLEA dismantled a similar meth laboratory in a forest in Ijebu East, Ogun State.

Naija News reports that speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), said the latest discovery showed attempts by drug cartels to turn the South-West into a synthetic drug manufacturing hub.

Marwa, who was represented by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the Oyo facility was not a small operation but a sophisticated production centre.

“This was not a rudimentary setup; it was a sophisticated, highly organised transnational syndicate,” he said.

He identified the arrested Mexican suspect as Jose Villa Ochoa, who was allegedly brought into Nigeria to provide technical expertise for large-scale methamphetamine production.

The four Nigerian suspects were named as Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43.

Marwa said a specialised team from the agency’s Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring visited the site on June 18 to conduct forensic examination of the facility.

According to him, the team discovered what he described as a “massive, factory-level production line of poison.”

He said the laboratory was fully stocked with precursor chemicals, industrial catalysts and heavy-duty processing equipment.

The chemicals and materials recovered included Phenyl-2-propanone, Phenylacetic acid, caustic soda, sulphuric acid, tartaric acid, thioglycolic acid, ethyl phenylacetate and cartons of aluminium foil.

Other items recovered included drums containing crystalline substances and dark liquid undergoing synthesis.

The agency said industrial processing equipment found at the site included one reactor pot, mounted distillation units, fabricated mixers and condensers, as well as vegetable dehydrator machines allegedly used for drying crystals.

Marwa said field tests conducted by forensic experts confirmed that samples of the finished crystals tested positive for methamphetamine.

He added that all exhibits had been safely evacuated, documented and preserved for court presentation.

“This is yet another multibillion-naira worth of illicit substances and production equipment ready to push millions of doses of synthetic drugs into our streets, communities and the international community but for the vigilance of our dedicated officers,” he said.

The NDLEA chairman warned local and international drug cartels that Nigeria would not serve as a safe haven for illicit drug production or trafficking.

“Let the message go out clearly to all drug cartels, domestic and international, that Nigeria is not, and will never be, a safe haven for your illicit trade,” Marwa said.

“We will find you in the cities, we will track you into the forests, and we will dismantle your infrastructure of death.

“They thought hiding in dense forests would shield them from the long arm of the law. They were wrong.”

Marwa commended officers of the Oyo State Command involved in the operation for their professionalism and courage.

He also thanked members of the public for providing credible information, saying cooperation between citizens and law enforcement remained crucial in the fight against drug trafficking.