The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a Nigerian-Mexican drug cartel operating a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Enugu State, arresting two alleged kingpins and recovering huge quantities of precursor chemicals.
The suspects, identified as 45-year-old Chukwu Obumneme Christopher, alias Brown, and 60-year-old Chukwu Georginus Monday, alias George, were arrested following months of intelligence gathering and surveillance by the agency’s Special Operations Unit.
The NDLEA said the cartel operated the laboratory in Eziama community, Obeagu, Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State, in collaboration with Rodriguez Villanueva, a suspected Mexican cartel member based in Mexico City.
The agency disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
According to the statement, NDLEA surveillance conducted between December 1 and 4, 2025, tracked Christopher’s movements across Lagos, Enugu and Anambra states before operatives traced him to the compound where the clandestine laboratory was discovered.
The laboratory was equipped with improvised reactors and distillation apparatus capable of producing methamphetamine on a commercial scale.
A search of the facility reportedly led to the seizure of 690 litres of methylamine, 1,000 litres of isopropyl alcohol, 300 litres of hydrochloric acid, 290 litres each of toluene and acetone, 400 litres of liquid sodium hydroxide and 125 kilogrammes of N-phenylacetamide.
Operatives also recovered 414 kilogrammes of lead acetate and 769.6 kilogrammes of tartaric acid, among other controlled substances.
The agency said the quantity and combination of chemicals recovered were consistent with a sophisticated P2P-based methamphetamine production operation.
Further searches at George’s family residence allegedly uncovered eight large fuel tanks, four commercial gas burners, four dehydrators and 11 kilogrammes of ephedrine.
The NDLEA said the discovery indicated the scale and sophistication of the cartel’s operations.
The two suspects have subsequently been arraigned before Justice Mabel Taiye Segun-Bello of the Federal High Court sitting in Enugu on a five-count charge.
The charges border on conspiracy, organising, managing and financing a drug trafficking organisation, as well as unlawful possession of precursor chemicals used in the production of methamphetamine.
They pleaded to the charges.
Following an application by the NDLEA for an accelerated trial, the judge fixed October 21, 2026, for the commencement of the trial.
Three other suspects — Uchenna, alias Uche; Celestine Ikemefuna Iwuchukwu; and Villanueva, the alleged Mexican cartel member — were also named in the charges but remain at large.
Reacting to the operation, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), said the agency would continue to pursue all suspects linked to the syndicate.
Marwa commended the officers involved in the operation, describing the successful dismantling of the Enugu laboratory as evidence of the agency’s intensified efforts against transnational drug trafficking networks.
He warned that Nigeria would not be allowed to become a base for international drug cartels, stressing that the agency would continue to rely on intelligence-driven operations and international partnerships to disrupt their activities.
He also directed NDLEA personnel to sustain enforcement operations against illicit drug production and trafficking across the country.
