Mexican Drug Expert, Four Others Arrested in Oyo Meth Lab
By Peace Erewunmi
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered and dismantled a large-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory hidden inside a forest in Oyo State, leading to the arrest of a Mexican national and four Nigerian suspects. The operation was carried out in Tapa Village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of the state.
According to the NDLEA, the facility was a sophisticated industrial-scale operation allegedly run by a transnational drug syndicate seeking to establish a synthetic drug production base in Nigeria’s South-West region.
Among those arrested was 56-year-old Jose Villa Ochoa, a Mexican national described by the agency as a methamphetamine production specialist allegedly brought into Nigeria to provide technical expertise. The four Nigerian suspects arrested alongside him were identified as Maxwell Uche Nevoh, Olatunji Yusuf, Bankole Akeem Owolabi, and Ganiu Monsiu.
Speaking on the operation, NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), represented by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, described the laboratory as a highly organized criminal enterprise rather than a small-scale operation.
The agency disclosed that forensic experts who examined the facility discovered large quantities of chemical substances, industrial processing equipment, and materials believed to be used in the production of methamphetamine. Field tests reportedly confirmed the presence of the illicit substance among samples recovered from the site.
Marwa noted that the discovery came only weeks after another major methamphetamine laboratory was dismantled in the South-West, raising concerns about attempts by international drug trafficking networks to establish a manufacturing corridor in the region.
He commended NDLEA operatives involved in the operation and reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to dismantling criminal networks engaged in illicit drug production and trafficking across the country.
Investigations are ongoing, while the suspects are expected to face prosecution in accordance with Nigeria’s drug control laws.
