NDLEA Arrests Mexican Suspect, Dismantles Industrial-Scale Meth Lab in Ebonyi
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Mexican national, Arturo Carrera Loaiza, in Lagos and dismantled an industrial-scale suspected methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State as part of an investigation into a wider transnational drug network operating in Nigeria.
The development was disclosed by the NDLEA on Tuesday, September 15, following months of investigation into suspected clandestine methamphetamine production involving Mexican nationals and Nigerian collaborators.
According to the agency, Loaiza was arrested on August 19, 2026, while attempting to leave Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. Investigators had been tracking him following earlier arrests connected to suspected methamphetamine laboratories in Ogun and Oyo states.
The investigation reportedly began after NDLEA operatives arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun State on May 16.
A month later, on June 17, another Mexican national, 56-year-old Jose Villa Ochoa, and four Nigerians were arrested at a suspected methamphetamine laboratory in Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The NDLEA said investigations into the Oyo operation eventually identified Loaiza as the person who allegedly recruited Ochoa and brought him into Nigeria.
Loaiza, however, reportedly denied knowledge of methamphetamine production during questioning. According to the agency, he claimed that a Nigerian contact identified only as “Henry” had invited him to Nigeria under the guise of a restaurant business venture.
Investigators subsequently recovered photographs showing Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing beside equipment believed to be consistent with methamphetamine production.
The NDLEA said analysis of location data embedded in the photographs helped investigators identify a property undergoing construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State.
On August 30, operatives moved into the property and discovered materials believed to be connected to the production of methamphetamine.
The agency said the operation uncovered a suspected industrial-scale laboratory setup, with chemicals and equipment including acetone, toluene, hydrochloric acid and other substances used in chemical processing. Methamphetamine was also reportedly recovered from a dehydrator at the location.
The investigation further led operatives to additional laboratory equipment that had allegedly been moved from the Ebonyi property to another location in a neighbouring community.
According to the NDLEA, investigators also recovered three empty dehydrators and other equipment associated with the suspected production process.
The agency said the discoveries provided further evidence in its investigation into a network allegedly attempting to establish clandestine methamphetamine production facilities in different parts of Nigeria.
The NDLEA described the operation as another major development in its investigation of transnational drug networks, following previous discoveries of suspected laboratories in Ogun and Oyo states.
The arrest of Loaiza and the dismantling of the Ebonyi facility are now part of the wider investigation into the individuals and organisations allegedly involved in the suspected network.
The NDLEA said investigations are continuing.
Note: The allegations concerning Loaiza and the suspected network are those of the NDLEA and remain subject to the legal process.
