The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered and dismantled a large-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory hidden deep within a forest in Tapa Village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State, arresting a Mexican national and four Nigerian suspects linked to the operation.

The agency described the facility as a highly sophisticated, industrial-scale methamphetamine production site operated by a Nigerian-Mexican drug cartel.

The development comes barely four weeks after NDLEA operatives dismantled another major methamphetamine laboratory concealed in a forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, raising concerns about efforts by drug syndicates to establish the South-West region as a hub for synthetic drug production.

Speaking at a press briefing at the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), represented by the Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, commended the officers involved in the operation for their professionalism and commitment.

According to the agency, tactical operatives stormed the facility on June 17, 2026, following intelligence-led investigations.

Babafemi disclosed that five key members of the cartel were arrested during the raid. Among them was a 56-year-old Mexican national, Jose Villa Ochoa, alleged to have been brought into Nigeria to provide technical expertise for large-scale methamphetamine production.

The four Nigerian suspects arrested alongside him were identified as Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43.

"The arrest of a foreign cartel specialist on Nigerian soil underscores the transnational nature of this threat. More importantly, it demonstrates the agency's intelligence capabilities in tracking, intercepting, and dismantling international drug networks," Babafemi said.

Following the raid, a team from the NDLEA Directorate of Forensic and Chemical Monitoring conducted a detailed examination of the facility on June 18, uncovering what officials described as a factory-scale drug production operation.

Among the substances recovered were large quantities of Phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), a controlled precursor used in methamphetamine production, as well as 1,800-litre drums containing phenylacetic acid, another key precursor chemical.

The agency also recovered two 180-litre drums containing approximately 300 litres of a whitish crystalline substance and four 180-litre drums filled with dark liquid undergoing chemical synthesis.

Other items seized included 101 bags of caustic soda weighing 25 kilograms each, 17 containers of sulphuric acid, 19.5 containers of tartaric acid, five containers of Reniso Ultracool 68, 25 bottles of thioglycolic acid, two containers of ethyl phenylacetate, and 25 cartons of aluminium foil.

Investigators further discovered heavy-duty industrial equipment used in the production process, including a reactor pot, two mounted distillation units, three fabricated mixers and condensers, and two vegetable dehydrator machines used for drying methamphetamine crystals.

NDLEA Chairman Marwa warned drug cartels and traffickers that the agency would continue to intensify its operations against illicit drug manufacturing and trafficking networks across the country.

"We will find you in the cities, track you into the forests, and dismantle your infrastructure of death. There will be no safe haven for those who seek to profit from the destruction of lives and communities through illicit drugs," he said.

The agency reiterated its commitment to combating drug trafficking and synthetic drug production, noting that the latest operation represents another significant milestone in Nigeria's ongoing fight against organized narcotics networks.