NDLEA Warns International Drug Cartels After Forest Laboratory Discovery
Oluwafunbi Bello 
ABUJA, Nigeria – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Mexican national and four Nigerian suspects after uncovering a large-scale methamphetamine production facility hidden inside a forest in Oyo State.
The clandestine laboratory was discovered at Tapa Village in Ibarapa North Local Government Area during an operation conducted by NDLEA operatives on June 17.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), represented by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, described the operation as a major breakthrough against international drug trafficking networks.
The suspects include 56-year-old Mexican national Jose Villa Ochoa, who investigators believe was recruited to provide technical expertise for large-scale methamphetamine production.
Other suspects arrested include Maxwell Uche Nevoh, Olatunji Yusuf, Bankole Akeem Owolabi and Ganiu Monsiu.
Babafemi said the operation exposed the growing international dimension of illicit drug production in Nigeria.
“This was not a rudimentary setup; it was a sophisticated, highly organised transnational syndicate,” he said.
Investigators recovered large quantities of precursor chemicals, including Phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), phenylacetic acid, sulphuric acid, tartaric acid and caustic soda.
The agency also seized industrial equipment such as reactor pots, distillation units, condensers, mixers and dehydrator machines.
Preliminary tests conducted at the site confirmed the presence of methamphetamine.
The NDLEA said the discovery, coming weeks after another clandestine laboratory was dismantled in neighbouring Ogun State, suggests efforts by criminal networks to establish a synthetic drug corridor in South-West Nigeria.
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Mirian Gom 
