Manny Ita –
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has announced the dismantling of what it described as the largest clandestine methamphetamine production facility ever discovered in Nigeria, following coordinated raids in Ogun and Lagos states.
According to the agency, the operation led to the arrest of 10 suspects, including three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerians allegedly linked to an international drug trafficking syndicate operating from a hidden forest base in Ogun State.
Speaking in Abuja, NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Marwa said the operation was carried out by the agency’s Special Operations Unit after months of intelligence gathering and surveillance.
The meth laboratory was reportedly concealed inside a forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State and allegedly operated by a cartel identified as the Anochili Innocent Drug Trafficking Organisation. Simultaneous operations were also conducted at properties in Lekki, Lagos, where the suspected kingpin, Anochili Innocent, was arrested.
Among those arrested were three Mexican nationals accused of helping to manufacture methamphetamine in Nigeria. NDLEA operatives also apprehended several Nigerian suspects allegedly working with the foreign nationals at the production site and other linked properties.
Investigators reportedly recovered the passports and phones of the foreign suspects during searches at the Lagos residence connected to the alleged cartel leader. Follow-up raids later resulted in additional arrests and the discovery of another property allegedly used as a stash house.
The agency said operatives seized more than 2.4 tonnes of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals with an estimated international street value of about $362.9 million, equivalent to over ₦480 billion. Vehicles allegedly linked to the operation were also confiscated.
Marwa warned that international drug syndicates were increasingly partnering with foreign experts to establish production facilities in remote Nigerian communities, adding that the agency would continue intensifying efforts against organised drug networks.
He also called on residents to report suspicious activities in their communities, noting that the Ogun forest facility had been disguised as a regular farming operation.
The development revived memories of a similar 2016 operation in Delta State where several Mexican nationals were arrested over another methamphetamine laboratory. That case later sparked controversy after a Federal High Court judge criticised the plea bargain arrangement reached between prosecutors and the suspects, describing it as too lenient considering the severity of the crimes.
