By Benson Daniel
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Mexican national suspected of being a key figure in a transnational drug network and dismantled an industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State.
The suspect, identified as Arturo Carrera Loaiza, was arrested on August 19, 2026, while allegedly attempting to leave Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
The arrest followed months of investigation into a suspected network involved in establishing clandestine methamphetamine laboratories in different parts of Nigeria.
The investigation was linked to earlier operations in Ogun and Oyo states, where several Mexican nationals and Nigerian collaborators were arrested in connection with suspected illicit drug production.
According to the NDLEA, investigations into one of those arrested in Oyo State led operatives to Loaiza, who was allegedly identified as the person responsible for recruiting a Mexican methamphetamine expert into Nigeria.
Investigators reportedly recovered photographs showing Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing among equipment believed to be associated with methamphetamine production. Analysis of location data embedded in the photographs allegedly directed investigators to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State.
NDLEA operatives searched the property on August 30 and reportedly found evidence suggesting that the location had been used in connection with a clandestine drug operation.
Investigators also recovered a CCTV memory card from the property. The agency said forensic examination of the footage showed a foreign national wearing a blue laboratory coat, which it said matched the appearance of Loaiza in the photographs.
The footage allegedly also showed a Nigerian identified as John Samuel Ivo Okike, alongside others, moving chemicals and laboratory equipment from the property on the night of August 21.
Further intelligence reportedly led operatives to another location in a neighbouring community, where additional chemicals, equipment and materials suspected to be connected to methamphetamine production were recovered.
Among the items recovered were large quantities of acetone, toluene, hydrochloric acid, ethanol, P2B and other chemical substances, as well as dehydrators, condensers, reaction equipment, weighing scales, mixers, drums and gas burners.
The NDLEA said one of the dehydrators contained a white cloth sieve with loose methamphetamine, while three other dehydrators were recovered empty.
The agency said the evidence gathered from the property, CCTV footage, forensic analysis and witness accounts had strengthened the investigation into the suspected network.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, said the agency would continue pursuing suspected transnational drug syndicates attempting to establish production facilities in Nigeria.
He also said investigations would continue to identify and apprehend other members of the network, including alleged financiers and local collaborators.
The operation follows previous NDLEA raids in Ogun and Oyo states involving Mexican nationals and Nigerian suspects allegedly connected to clandestine methamphetamine production.
The agency has urged residents, particularly those in rural and forested communities, to report suspicious activities, unusual chemical odours and unfamiliar structures that may be linked to illegal drug production.
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