Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have uncovered and dismantled a fortified industrial-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory hidden in a forest in Oyo State, arresting a Mexican national and four Nigerians linked to the operation.
The Chairman of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
Marwa said the laboratory was discovered deep within the forest of Tapa Village in Ibarapa North Local Government Area during an intelligence-led operation conducted on June 17.
He described the facility as a highly sophisticated industrial-scale methamphetamine production centre operated by a transnational drug cartel.
According to him, the operation led to the arrest of five key members of the syndicate, including a 56-year-old Mexican national, Jose Villa Ochoa, alleged to have been brought into Nigeria to provide technical expertise for large-scale methamphetamine production.
The other suspects arrested were Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43.
“The arrest of a foreign cartel specialist on Nigerian soil underscores the transnational nature of this threat and demonstrates the agency’s intelligence capability to track and dismantle such criminal networks,” Marwa said.
He said a specialised team from the agency’s Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring subsequently conducted a forensic examination of the facility.
According to him, investigators discovered what amounted to a factory-level production line stocked with large quantities of precursor chemicals, industrial catalysts and heavy-duty processing equipment.
The NDLEA boss listed some of the chemicals recovered as Phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), Phenylacetic acid, caustic soda, sulphuric acid, tartaric acid, thioglycolic acid and ethyl phenylacetate.
He added that several drums containing substances undergoing chemical synthesis and crystalline materials suspected to be methamphetamine were also recovered.
Marwa said forensic tests carried out at the scene confirmed that samples of the recovered crystals tested positive for methamphetamine.
He added that all exhibits had been safely evacuated and documented for evidential purposes.
Among the equipment recovered were a reactor pot, mounted distillation units, fabricated mixers and condensers, as well as vegetable dehydrator machines allegedly used in processing the illicit substance.
Marwa said the discovery came barely four weeks after the agency dismantled another major methamphetamine laboratory hidden in a forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area.
He noted that the proximity of both discoveries suggested an attempt by drug cartels to establish a synthetic drug manufacturing hub in the South-West region.
“The cartels thought hiding in dense forests would shield them from the long arm of the law. They were wrong.
“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.
“We will find you in the cities, we will track you into the forests, and we will dismantle your infrastructure of death,” he said.
Marwa commended the officers of the Oyo State Command involved in the operation for their professionalism, dedication and bravery.
He also thanked members of the public for providing credible information that supports the agency’s efforts to combat illicit drug production and trafficking across the country.
