Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, have dismantled a fortified, industrial-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory operated by a Nigerian-Mexican cartel deep in Tapa Village forest, Ibarapa North LGA, Oyo State.
The raid on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, comes barely four weeks after NDLEA destroyed a similar massive meth lab in Ijebu East, Ogun State, signaling what the agency calls a desperate bid by drug barons to turn the Southwest into a synthetic drug manufacturing hub.
Five suspects were arrested on site. They include a 56-year-old Mexican meth expert, Jose Villa Ochoa, allegedly brought in for large-scale synthesis, and four Nigerians providing logistics and local cover: Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, Rtd, who was represented by Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, at a press briefing in Abuja on June 24, said the arrest of a foreign specialist “underscores the transnational nature of this threat, but more importantly, our world-class intelligence capability to track and neutralize them.”
Forensic teams that entered the facility on June 18 recovered a factory-level production line. Exhibits included Phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), the main meth precursor, 1800-litre drums of Phenylacetic acid, 300 litres of crystalline substance, caustic soda, sulphuric and tartaric acids, a reactor pot, distillation units, mixers, condensers, and dehydrators. Field tests confirmed methamphetamine. NDLEA said the haul is worth multi-billions of naira and would have produced millions of doses.
Marwa warned that cartels hiding in dense forests were wrong to think they were safe. “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.
The NDLEA boss commended officers of the Oyo Command for “gallantry, dedication, and clinical professionalism” and thanked the public for credible information. All exhibits have been evacuated and documented for court prosecution, the agency said.
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