The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Mexican national accused of recruiting a methamphetamine expert into Nigeria and uncovered a suspected methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State.
The suspect, Arturo Carrera Loaiza, was arrested on 19 August while trying to leave Nigeria through the Murtala Mohammad International Airport (MMI) in Lagos.
The arrest came after months of investigation into suspected methamphetamine production involving Mexican nationals and Nigerians in Ogun and Oyo states.
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NDLEA Chairman Buba Marwa disclosed the development at a press briefing in Lagos on Tuesday.
Mr Marwa, a retired brigadier general, was represented by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
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Mr Marwa stated that the investigation began with the arrest of three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerians at a forest hideout in Ogun State on 16 May.
A month later, on 17 June, NDLEA operatives arrested another Mexican, 56-year-old Jose Villa Ochoa, and four Nigerians at a suspected methamphetamine laboratory in Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
He explained that field tests at the site confirmed the presence of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals.
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He noted that investigators later established that Mr Ochoa had been recruited into Nigeria by Mr Loaiza.
He said further that working with international partners, investigators obtained a photograph of Mr Loaiza. Mr Ochoa identified the man in the photograph as the person who recruited him and helped arrange his entry into Nigeria.
The NDLEA said Mr Loaiza entered the country on 10 June with another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.
When questioned after his arrest, Mr Loaiza told investigators that a Nigerian identified only as Henry had invited him to Nigeria for a restaurant business.
He denied any knowledge of methamphetamine production or involvement with the laboratory in Oyo State.
But Mr Marwa revealed that investigators later found photographs showing him in a blue laboratory coat among equipment suspected to have been used for methamphetamine production.
He stated that the photographs provided the next lead.
The NDLEA said location data attached to them led investigators to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi in Ebonyi State.
Operatives searched the property on 30 August and linked it to John Samuel Ivo Okike.
People interviewed at the site, including a site engineer and a caretaker, told investigators about a temporary structure over a septic tank behind the building and persistent chemical odours from the premises, according to the agency.
Investigators also recovered a CCTV memory card from the property.
The NDLEA stated that forensic examination of the footage showed a foreign national in a blue laboratory coat whom investigators identified as Mr Loaiza. Mr Okike was also repeatedly seen at the property.
The footage allegedly showed chemicals and laboratory equipment being moved from the property at about 9 p.m. on 21 August, with Mr Okike directing the operation.
The materials were later traced to an isolated house in a neighbouring community, where the agency said they had been kept by Nwanja Obasi.
A search of the house uncovered chemicals, laboratory equipment and other items suspected to be connected with methamphetamine production.
The NDLEA noted that the seizure included 442.8kg of acetone, 37.1kg of toluene, 20kg of an acetone/bromobenzene mixture, 1.7kg of ethanol, 5.1kg of chloride salt, 31.5kg of hydrochloric acid, 200kg of P2B and 1kg of tartaric acid.
Operatives also recovered dehydrators, a condenser, a fabricated reaction pot, pumps, weighing scales, mixers, drums, gas burners and other laboratory equipment.
One of the dehydrators contained a white cloth sieve with loose methamphetamine, while three others were empty, the agency said.
A blue laboratory coat recovered from the location was also said to match the coat worn by Mr Loaiza in the photographs and CCTV footage.
The NDLEA said the photographs, CCTV footage, forensic examination and witness accounts would form part of the evidence being used to investigate those linked to the alleged network.
The development follows two major NDLEA operations involving Mexican nationals and suspected methamphetamine laboratories in the South-west since May.
“Through a clinical, simultaneous operation executed by the elite operatives of our Special Operations Unit (SOU), we have successfully dismantled a sophisticated, transnational methamphetamine production syndicate run jointly by a Nigerian drug cartel and their Mexican counterparts,” Mr Marwa said.
The NDLEA boss stated that the main target of the operation was a remote property located in Abidagba forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, allegedly used as a clandestine methamphetamine production site by a syndicate identified as the Anochili Innocent Drug Trafficking Organisation.
He added that another team simultaneously raided a residence at Tafawa Balewa Street, Golf Estate, Lakowe, Lekki, Lagos, where the alleged leader of the cartel, Anochili Innocent, was arrested.
The agency has charged 10 people, including the three Mexican nationals arrested at the forest laboratory, over the alleged production of 2,419.48kg of methamphetamine. They pleaded not guilty.
READ ALSO: NDLEA seizes tonnes of cannabis, other drugs in seven states
Mr Marwa noted that the agency would continue investigating the network and pursue those it believes financed the operations or worked with the foreign nationals.
“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,” he said.
He commended officers involved in the operations, particularly personnel of the Special Operations Unit, Strike Force and Forensics teams, as well as NDLEA commands in Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi.
The agency urged residents of rural and forest communities to report suspicious activities, unusual chemical odours and unfamiliar structures to it through its toll-free line, 080010203040, or [email protected]
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