NDLEA Dismantles Another Industrial Meth Lab, Arrests Fleeing Mexican Kingpin
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled yet another industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory and arrested a Mexican drug kingpin who was attempting to flee the country through the Lagos airport.
The NDLEA chairman, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa said this while briefing the media on the latest development on Tuesday in Lagos.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi on Tuesday.
Marwa said that the operation was a fresh one that further exposed the desperation by transnational cartels to infiltrate Nigeria’s forests and rural communities.
He said the breakthrough followed months of painstaking investigation into a wider criminal network behind a string of clandestine drug laboratories uncovered in parts of the country this year.
Marwa, who was represented by Babafemi, recalled that operatives had earlier this year arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators at a forest hideout in Ogun on May 16.
He said that the NDLEA operatives also arrested another Mexican national alongside four Nigerian collaborators on June 17 at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory.
He added that they were hidden in a forested part of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State, where field tests confirmed large quantities of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals.
He also added that investigations by the agency’s Special Operations Unit (SOU) into the Oyo State arrest led operatives to establish that the 56-year-old Mexican Meth expert, Jose Ochoa arrested at the forest lab had been recruited into Nigeria by a Mexican kingpin, Arturo Loaiza
“Working with international partners, NDLEA investigators obtained a photograph of the Loaiza , which the arrested suspect positively identified as the man who recruited and moved him into Nigeria.
“Intelligence further showed that Loaiza entered Nigeria on June 10 alongside another Mexican national, Jose Perez, ”he said.
“On August 19, our operatives tracked down and arrested Loaiza attempting to flee the country through the Lagos airport.
“During interrogation, he claimed he had been invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian contact, identified only as “Henry,” under the guise of a restaurant business venture.
“Loaiza, however, denied any knowledge of methamphetamine manufacturing or involvement with the Tapa village laboratory,”he said.
Marwa said that the agency findings told a different story saying that investigators recovered images of Loaiza dressed in a blue laboratory coat, standing amid equipment consistent with methamphetamine production.
He said that analysis of the location metadata embedded in those images led the operatives to a property undergoing construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi, Ebonyi State.
“August 30, our operatives moved on the Ebonyi State property, linked to one John Okike.
“Interviews with persons found at the site, including the site engineer and a caretaker, revealed the erection of a suspicious temporary structure over the septic tank area at the rear of the building, and persistent strong chemical odours emanating from the premises.
“A CCTV memory card recovered from the property proved decisive. Forensic review of the footage showed a foreign national in a blue laboratory coat on the premises, matching the image of the drug kingpin earlier recovered, as well as repeated appearances by Okike.
“Critically, the footage captured, at about 9:00 p.m. on August 21, the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment out of the property, with Okike seen directing the operation alongside others assisting in the relocation,”he said.
Marwa said that acting on further intelligence from a confidential source, operatives traced the relocated materials to an isolated house in a neighbouring community, kept under the custody of one Nwanja Obasi.
He said that a raid on the location led to the recovery of a substantial cache of methamphetamine-related chemicals, equipment and paraphernalia, including:
“A dehydrator containing a white cloth sieve embedded with loose methamphetamine, and three additional empty dehydrators; 442.8 kg of Acetone, 37.1 kg of Toluene, a 20 kg mixture of Acetone/Bromobenzene.
“Also, 1.7 kg of Ethanol, 5.1 kg of Chloride Salt, 31.5 kg of Hydrochloric acid, 200 kg of P2B, and 1 kg of Tartaric acid; Condensing units, a condenser head, a condenser, and a fabricated reaction pot.
“Additional equipment including an access pump, weighing scales, mixers, drums, gas burners, gloves, and a blue laboratory coat matching the one recovered at the John Samuel property.
“This recovery, taken together with the CCTV evidence, other forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts, has significantly strengthened the case against all persons connected to this network,” he said.
Marwa spoke on the capacity and capability of the agency under his leadership to root out every element of transnational drug cartels looking for a foothold in the country.
The NDLEA chairman warned that Nigeria would never become a safe haven for merchants of death.
“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.
“The arrest of Loaiza and the dismantling of the Ebonyi State facility, coming so soon after the Ogun and Oyo State operations, demonstrate that this agency’s intelligence and forensic capabilities are more than a match for these syndicates, however sophisticated they may believe themselves to be,”he stated.
The NDLEA boss commended the officers of the SOU Strike Force, Forensics and the Oyo, Ogun and Ebonyi State Commands for their diligence, professionalism and courage in the discharge of their responsibilities in the three spectacular operations.
He vowed that the agency would continue pursuing every lead until the full network, its financiers and local enablers are brought to justice.
He renewed the agency’s call on Nigerians, particularly those in rural and forested communities, to report suspicious activity, unusual chemical odours, or unfamiliar structures to the NDLEA through its toll-free line, 080010203040, or by email at info@ndlea.gov.ng. #NDLEA Dismantles Another Industrial Meth Lab, Arrests Fleeing Mexican Kingpin# NDLEA Intercepts Cocaine, Arrests Kingpin in Lagos
