The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Mexican national identified as Arturo Carrera Loaiza, described by the agency as a key figure in a transnational methamphetamine network, while attempting to leave Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
The agency also announced the dismantling of another industrial-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State as part of an investigation into a wider Nigerian-Mexican drug network operating across several states.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), disclosed the development in Lagos on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. He was represented at the briefing by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
According to the NDLEA, Loaiza was arrested on August 19 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, as he attempted to leave the country.
The arrest followed investigations into clandestine methamphetamine laboratories previously uncovered in Ogun and Oyo states.
The agency said the investigation began after three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators were arrested at a forest hideout in Ogun State on May 16, 2026.
On June 17, NDLEA operatives arrested another Mexican national, 56-year-old Jose Villa Ochoa, alongside four Nigerian collaborators at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Field tests conducted at the Oyo facility reportedly confirmed the presence of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals.
The NDLEA said further investigations established that Ochoa had been recruited into Nigeria by Loaiza.
According to the agency, Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10 alongside another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.
Following his arrest, Loaiza reportedly told investigators that a Nigerian identified only as “Henry” had invited him to Nigeria for a restaurant business venture.
He denied knowledge of methamphetamine production or involvement in the laboratory operation.
However, investigators reportedly recovered photographs showing Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing beside equipment suspected to be associated with methamphetamine production.
The NDLEA said location data attached to the photographs provided investigators with another lead, directing them to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State.
How NDLEA uncovered Ebonyi laboratory
Operatives searched the Ebonyi property on August 30 and reportedly found evidence suggesting that the location had been used for clandestine drug production.
Investigators also recovered a CCTV memory card from the property.
According to the NDLEA, forensic examination of the CCTV footage showed a foreign national wearing a blue laboratory coat, whom investigators identified as Loaiza.
The footage also allegedly showed Nigerian national John Samuel Ivo Okike repeatedly visiting the property.
The agency said the footage captured chemicals and laboratory equipment being moved from the property at about 9pm on August 21, with Okike allegedly directing the operation.
Investigators reportedly found a white cloth sieve containing loose methamphetamine inside one of several dehydrators at the location, while three other dehydrators were empty.
A blue laboratory coat recovered from the property was also said to match the coat seen in photographs and CCTV footage associated with Loaiza. (Premium Times Nigeria)
The NDLEA said the evidence recovered from the property, including photographs, CCTV footage, forensic findings and witness accounts, would form part of the ongoing investigation into members of the suspected network.
Wider Nigerian-Mexican drug network
The latest operation forms part of a series of NDLEA investigations targeting suspected international drug syndicates attempting to establish methamphetamine production facilities in Nigeria.
The agency had earlier announced the dismantling of a major Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine production syndicate following an operation in Ogun State in May.
In that operation, NDLEA said it arrested a Nigerian drug cartel leader, three Mexican technical experts and other Nigerian collaborators at a clandestine laboratory in the Ijebu area of Ogun State. The agency said the laboratory contained large quantities of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals.
The agency subsequently reported another clandestine methamphetamine laboratory operation in Oyo State, where Mexican nationals were among those arrested.
The investigations have raised concerns among Nigerian authorities over attempts by international drug networks to exploit rural and forested locations for illicit drug production.
Marwa has previously warned that the NDLEA would continue to target international drug cartels and their local collaborators, regardless of where they establish their operations.
The agency’s latest announcement therefore represents another major development in its ongoing crackdown on illicit drug production and trafficking in Nigeria.
The NDLEA said investigations into the suspected network remain ongoing as authorities work to identify and prosecute other individuals linked to the operations.
