The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled an alleged Nigerian-Mexican drug cartel operating a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Eziama community, Obeagu, Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The agency said it arrested two alleged kingpins of the syndicate, 45-year-old Chukwu Obumneme Christopher, also known as Brown, and 60-year-old Chukwu Georginus Monday, also known as George, following months of intelligence gathering and surveillance.
According to the NDLEA, the two suspects allegedly operated the laboratory in collaboration with Rodriguez Villanueva, whom the agency identified as a member of a Mexican drug cartel based in Mexico City.
The suspects were subsequently arraigned before Justice Mabel Taiye Segun-Bello of the Federal High Court, Enugu Judicial Division, on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, organisation, management and financing of a drug trafficking organisation, as well as unlawful possession of precursor chemicals allegedly used in the production of methamphetamine.
The charges were filed under the provisions of the NDLEA Act.
The court has fixed October 21, 2026, for the commencement of trial following an application by the agency for an accelerated hearing.
Three other suspects were also listed in the charge, namely Uchenna, alias Uche; Celestine Ikemefuna Iwuchukwu; and Villanueva, who remains at large.
The NDLEA said investigations conducted by its Special Operations Unit uncovered what it described as a sophisticated transnational drug operation involving Nigerian and Mexican nationals.
According to the agency, surveillance conducted between December 1 and 4, 2025, tracked Brown’s movements across Lagos, Enugu and Anambra states before operatives were eventually led to a compound in Obeagu.
The agency said the premises contained a clandestine laboratory allegedly designed to produce methamphetamine in commercial quantities.
The NDLEA said the laboratory was fitted with improvised reactors and distillation apparatus and was similar to facilities recently dismantled in Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi states.
A search of the premises allegedly resulted in the recovery of large quantities of precursor chemicals, including 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, 125 kilogrammes of N-phenylacetamide, 414 kilogrammes of lead acetate and 769.6 kilogrammes of tartaric acid.
The agency said the substances recovered were consistent with a P2P-based methamphetamine manufacturing operation.
The NDLEA added that a related search of George’s family residence led to the recovery of eight large fuel tanks, four commercial gas burners, four dehydrators and 11 kilogrammes of ephedrine.
According to the agency, the discoveries demonstrated the scale and sophistication of the alleged cartel’s operations and pointed to an organised effort to establish a large-scale methamphetamine production facility.
Reacting to the operation, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended the officers involved, describing their efforts as professional and determined.
Marwa said the Enugu operation demonstrated the agency’s determination to prevent Nigeria from becoming a base for transnational drug cartels.
He said the NDLEA’s intelligence-led operations and international partnerships would continue to target loopholes allegedly exploited by drug traffickers operating within and outside Nigeria.
The NDLEA chairman also directed personnel of the agency to sustain enforcement operations against illicit drug production and trafficking across the country.
The agency said efforts were ongoing to track down the suspects still at large and bring them before the court.
The Enugu operation comes amid a series of industrial-scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory discoveries involving Nigerian and foreign nationals in different parts of Nigeria.
On September 15, the NDLEA disclosed the dismantling of another industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State and the arrest of a Mexican national, Arturo Carrera Loaiza, whom the agency described as a drug kingpin.
According to the NDLEA, Loaiza was arrested on August 19, 2026, while attempting to leave Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
The agency said investigations arising from an earlier operation in Oyo State led to his identification and subsequent arrest.
During interrogation, Loaiza reportedly claimed that he had been invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian contact identified only as “Henry” under the guise of a restaurant business venture. He reportedly denied knowledge of methamphetamine production or involvement in the clandestine laboratory discovered in Tapa village, Oyo State.
The NDLEA, however, said investigators recovered photographs showing Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing among equipment it said was consistent with methamphetamine production.
The agency said analysis of location metadata contained in the photographs led investigators to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State.
Operatives subsequently raided the property on August 30 and allegedly found evidence linking it to John Samuel Ivo Okike.
According to the NDLEA, a CCTV memory card recovered from the property provided further evidence, with footage allegedly showing Loaiza and Okike at the premises, alongside the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment.
A subsequent raid on another property allegedly under the custody of Nwanja Obasi also led to the recovery of methamphetamine-related chemicals, equipment and other paraphernalia.
The agency said the items recovered included a dehydrator containing a white cloth sieve embedded with loose methamphetamine, three additional empty dehydrators, 442.8 kilogrammes of acetone, 37.1 kilogrammes of toluene, 20 kilogrammes of an acetone/bromobenzene mixture, 1.7 kilogrammes of ethanol, 5.1 kilogrammes of chloride salt, 31.5 kilogrammes of hydrochloric acid, 200 kilogrammes of P2B and one kilogramme of tartaric acid.
The Ebonyi operation followed earlier NDLEA raids on suspected methamphetamine laboratories in Oyo and Ogun states.
In June, the agency dismantled a large clandestine methamphetamine laboratory hidden in a forest in Tapa Village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Five people were arrested in connection with the operation, including 56-year-old Mexican methamphetamine expert Jose Villa Ochoa and four Nigerians identified as Maxwell Uche Nevoh, Olatunji Yusuf, Bankole Akeem Owolabi and Ganiu Monsiu.
The NDLEA said subsequent investigations established that Ochoa had allegedly been recruited into Nigeria by Loaiza.
At the Oyo laboratory, investigators recovered large quantities of precursor chemicals and industrial equipment, while field tests conducted on finished crystals recovered from the facility allegedly returned positive results for methamphetamine.
The agency had also earlier dismantled another industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in a forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State.
That operation resulted in the arrest of three Mexican nationals and several Nigerians allegedly linked to the facility.
In July, the NDLEA said a Federal High Court in Lagos had remanded an alleged drug kingpin, three Mexican nationals and six other Nigerians over the alleged operation of the Ogun laboratory.
The agency alleged in court documents that the Ogun facility had produced about 2,419.48 kilogrammes of methamphetamine, with an estimated international street value of more than ₦480 billion.
The NDLEA said the involvement of Mexican nationals in the Ogun and Oyo operations pointed to the alleged activities of international drug trafficking networks seeking to establish methamphetamine production bases in Nigeria.
Against this backdrop, Marwa said the latest operation reinforced the agency’s determination to prevent Nigeria from becoming a base for transnational drug cartels seeking to relocate their operations into the country.
He said Nigeria would not be allowed to become a destination for international drug networks seeking to establish clandestine laboratories in forests and rural communities.
Marwa added that the arrest of Loaiza and the dismantling of the Ebonyi facility, coming after the Ogun and Oyo operations, demonstrated the NDLEA’s use of intelligence and forensic capabilities to track alleged drug syndicates.
He also commended officers of the agency’s Special Operations Unit, Strike Force, Forensics and the Oyo, Ogun and Ebonyi State Commands for what he described as their diligence and professionalism.
The NDLEA chairman vowed that the agency would continue following leads until the wider network, including alleged financiers and local enablers, was brought before the appropriate authorities.
The agency maintained that investigations into the Enugu operation remained ongoing, while efforts continued to apprehend the suspects who are still at large.