The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has raided a laboratory spearheaded by a Nigerian-Mexican syndicate, leading to the arrest of a drug baron, three Mexican nationals, and six other individuals in Ogun State, Nigeria.
The NDLEA discovered what it described as the biggest secret methamphetamine drug laboratory ever found in Nigeria, located inside a forest in the Ijebu area of Ogun State. A total of 2,419.48 kilogrammes of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals worth over N480 billion were recovered.
The secret forest laboratory was operated by the Anochili Innocent Drug Trafficking Organisation. The kingpin was later captured in his home in Lakowe, Lekki, Lagos, where operatives found passports and phone devices belonging to the Mexican suspects.
The Mexican suspects were identified as Martinez Felix Nemecto, Jesús López Valles, and Torrero Juan Carlos.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), said the operation followed months of gathered intelligence and surveillance carried out by operatives of the agency’s Special Operations Unit.
“Through a clinical, simultaneous operation executed by the elite operatives of our Special Operations Unit, we have successfully dismantled a sophisticated, transnational methamphetamine production syndicate run jointly by a Nigerian drug cartel and their Mexican counterparts,” Marwa stated.
Mr Marwa stated that the illegal drug network did not just traffic drugs but was actively manufacturing industrial-scale quantities of highly lethal illicit substances right on Nigerian soil, threatening the national security and public health of Nigeria.
“Let it be known 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,” he added, urging Nigerians to report any suspicious activity.
