Residents of Isiata Ugoni Okposi community in Ebonyi State were reportedly unaware that a property under construction in their neighbourhood had allegedly been used as a clandestine industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory.

The operation, according to Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in a statement on Tuesday was linked to an international drug syndicate involving Mexican methamphetamine experts and Nigerian collaborators.

The agency said its investigators uncovered the laboratory after tracing Arturo Carrera Loaiza, whom it described as a Mexican drug kingpin, through photographs, location data and CCTV footage.

Loaiza was arrested on August 19 while allegedly attempting to flee Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
His arrest followed investigations into a network allegedly involved in establishing clandestine methamphetamine production facilities in different parts of the country.

The investigation eventually took operatives to Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State, where they discovered a suspicious temporary structure erected over a septic tank at the rear of a building.

The NDLEA said a strong chemical odour emanating from the premises heightened investigators’ suspicions.

A site engineer and caretaker working at the property were subsequently questioned as investigators sought to establish the purpose of the structure and activities taking place there.

A CCTV memory card recovered from the property later provided investigators with a major breakthrough. According to the agency, the footage showed a foreign national wearing a blue laboratory coat at the premises.

The person allegedly matched an earlier photograph of Loaiza obtained during the investigation.

The footage also showed John Samuel Ivo Okike making repeated visits to the property.

The NDLEA said footage recorded around 9pm on August 21 showed chemicals and laboratory equipment being removed from the premises, with Okike allegedly directing the operation.

Investigators later traced the materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community.

The agency said operatives found a substantial quantity of chemicals and equipment allegedly used in the production of methamphetamine at the second location.

The recovered items included 442.8kg of acetone, 37.1kg of toluene, 31.5kg of hydrochloric acid and 200kg of P2B, among other cchemicals Dehydrators, condensers, reaction equipment, weighing scales, mixers, drums and gas burners were also recovered.

The NDLEA said one of the dehydrators contained loose methamphetamine.
The discovery has raised concerns over the potential danger posed to residents living close to clandestine drug laboratories, particularly in rural communities where suspicious structures, unusual visitors and chemical odours may not immediately attract attention.

The chemicals involved in illicit drug production can also expose nearby residents to serious hazards when laboratories are operated within or close to residential areas.

The Ebonyi operation was reportedly uncovered as part of a wider investigation into an international network allegedly seeking to establish methamphetamine production facilities in Nigeria.

The investigation began in May when NDLEA operatives arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun State.

In June, another Mexican national, Jose Villa Ochoa, was arrested alongside four Nigerian collaborators at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in a forested part of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.

Ochoa allegedly identified Loaiza as the person who recruited him into Nigeria.
Investigators subsequently obtained photographs of Loaiza, which helped them trace his activities to Ebonyi State.

Reacting to the development, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), warned that Nigeria would not allow its forests and rural communities to become bases for international drug cartels.

“Let me be unequivocal, Nigeria will not be allowed to become a haven for transnational drug cartels seeking to relocate their laboratories from other jurisdictions into our forests and rural communities,” Marwa said.

He urged residents, particularly those living in rural and forested communities, to report suspicious activities, unfamiliar structures and unusual chemical odours to the NDLEA.

Residents of Isiata Ugoni Okposi community in Ebonyi State were reportedly unaware that a property under construction in their neighbourhood had allegedly been used as a clandestine industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory.

The operation, according to Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in a statement on Tuesday was linked to an international drug syndicate involving Mexican methamphetamine experts and Nigerian collaborators.

The agency said its investigators uncovered the laboratory after tracing Arturo Carrera Loaiza, whom it described as a Mexican drug kingpin, through photographs, location data and CCTV footage.

Loaiza was arrested on August 19 while allegedly attempting to flee Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
His arrest followed investigations into a network allegedly involved in establishing clandestine methamphetamine production facilities in different parts of the country.

The investigation eventually took operatives to Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State, where they discovered a suspicious temporary structure erected over a septic tank at the rear of a building.

The NDLEA said a strong chemical odour emanating from the premises heightened investigators’ suspicions.

A site engineer and caretaker working at the property were subsequently questioned as investigators sought to establish the purpose of the structure and activities taking place there.

A CCTV memory card recovered from the property later provided investigators with a major breakthrough. According to the agency, the footage showed a foreign national wearing a blue laboratory coat at the premises.

The person allegedly matched an earlier photograph of Loaiza obtained during the investigation.

The footage also showed John Samuel Ivo Okike making repeated visits to the property.

The NDLEA said footage recorded around 9pm on August 21 showed chemicals and laboratory equipment being removed from the premises, with Okike allegedly directing the operation.

Investigators later traced the materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community.

The agency said operatives found a substantial quantity of chemicals and equipment allegedly used in the production of methamphetamine at the second location.

The recovered items included 442.8kg of acetone, 37.1kg of toluene, 31.5kg of hydrochloric acid and 200kg of P2B, among other cchemicals Dehydrators, condensers, reaction equipment, weighing scales, mixers, drums and gas burners were also recovered.

The NDLEA said one of the dehydrators contained loose methamphetamine.
The discovery has raised concerns over the potential danger posed to residents living close to clandestine drug laboratories, particularly in rural communities where suspicious structures, unusual visitors and chemical odours may not immediately attract attention.

The chemicals involved in illicit drug production can also expose nearby residents to serious hazards when laboratories are operated within or close to residential areas.

The Ebonyi operation was reportedly uncovered as part of a wider investigation into an international network allegedly seeking to establish methamphetamine production facilities in Nigeria.

The investigation began in May when NDLEA operatives arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun State.

In June, another Mexican national, Jose Villa Ochoa, was arrested alongside four Nigerian collaborators at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in a forested part of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.

Ochoa allegedly identified Loaiza as the person who recruited him into Nigeria.
Investigators subsequently obtained photographs of Loaiza, which helped them trace his activities to Ebonyi State.

Reacting to the development, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), warned that Nigeria would not allow its forests and rural communities to become bases for international drug cartels.

“Let me be unequivocal, Nigeria will not be allowed to become a haven for transnational drug cartels seeking to relocate their laboratories from other jurisdictions into our forests and rural communities,” Marwa said.

He urged residents, particularly those living in rural and forested communities, to report suspicious activities, unfamiliar structures and unusual chemical odours to the NDLEA.

Residents of Isiata Ugoni Okposi community in Ebonyi State were reportedly unaware that a property under construction in their neighbourhood had allegedly been used as a clandestine industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory.

The operation, according to Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in a statement on Tuesday was linked to an international drug syndicate involving Mexican methamphetamine experts and Nigerian collaborators.

The agency said its investigators uncovered the laboratory after tracing Arturo Carrera Loaiza, whom it described as a Mexican drug kingpin, through photographs, location data and CCTV footage.

Loaiza was arrested on August 19 while allegedly attempting to flee Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
His arrest followed investigations into a network allegedly involved in establishing clandestine methamphetamine production facilities in different parts of the country.

The investigation eventually took operatives to Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State, where they discovered a suspicious temporary structure erected over a septic tank at the rear of a building.

The NDLEA said a strong chemical odour emanating from the premises heightened investigators’ suspicions.

A site engineer and caretaker working at the property were subsequently questioned as investigators sought to establish the purpose of the structure and activities taking place there.

A CCTV memory card recovered from the property later provided investigators with a major breakthrough. According to the agency, the footage showed a foreign national wearing a blue laboratory coat at the premises.

The person allegedly matched an earlier photograph of Loaiza obtained during the investigation.

The footage also showed John Samuel Ivo Okike making repeated visits to the property.

The NDLEA said footage recorded around 9pm on August 21 showed chemicals and laboratory equipment being removed from the premises, with Okike allegedly directing the operation.

Investigators later traced the materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community.

The agency said operatives found a substantial quantity of chemicals and equipment allegedly used in the production of methamphetamine at the second location.

The recovered items included 442.8kg of acetone, 37.1kg of toluene, 31.5kg of hydrochloric acid and 200kg of P2B, among other cchemicals Dehydrators, condensers, reaction equipment, weighing scales, mixers, drums and gas burners were also recovered.

The NDLEA said one of the dehydrators contained loose methamphetamine.
The discovery has raised concerns over the potential danger posed to residents living close to clandestine drug laboratories, particularly in rural communities where suspicious structures, unusual visitors and chemical odours may not immediately attract attention.

The chemicals involved in illicit drug production can also expose nearby residents to serious hazards when laboratories are operated within or close to residential areas.

The Ebonyi operation was reportedly uncovered as part of a wider investigation into an international network allegedly seeking to establish methamphetamine production facilities in Nigeria.

The investigation began in May when NDLEA operatives arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun State.

In June, another Mexican national, Jose Villa Ochoa, was arrested alongside four Nigerian collaborators at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in a forested part of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.

Ochoa allegedly identified Loaiza as the person who recruited him into Nigeria.
Investigators subsequently obtained photographs of Loaiza, which helped them trace his activities to Ebonyi State.

Reacting to the development, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), warned that Nigeria would not allow its forests and rural communities to become bases for international drug cartels.

“Let me be unequivocal, Nigeria will not be allowed to become a haven for transnational drug cartels seeking to relocate their laboratories from other jurisdictions into our forests and rural communities,” Marwa said.

He urged residents, particularly those living in rural and forested communities, to report suspicious activities, unfamiliar structures and unusual chemical odours to the NDLEA.