NDLEA uncovers meth lab in Oyo hidden in a forest and arrests a Mexican and four Nigerians in a major drug bust operation

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered an industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory hidden deep inside a forest in Tapa Village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State, in a major operation that led to the arrest of a Mexican national and four Nigerian suspects.

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The agency described the facility as a sophisticated and highly organised production site allegedly run by a transnational drug syndicate operating within Nigeria’s South-West region.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), confirmed the development in Abuja on Wednesday through the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, stating that the raid was carried out on June 17 following credible intelligence.

According to the agency, the laboratory was not a small or rudimentary setup but an industrial-scale clandestine facility equipped for large-volume methamphetamine production.

The arrested foreign suspect was identified as 56-year-old Mexican national Jose Villa Ochoa, who was allegedly brought in to provide technical expertise for the drug manufacturing operation.

The Nigerian suspects arrested alongside him were identified as Maxwell Nevoh, Olatunji Yusuf, Bankole Owolabi and Ganiu Monsiu.

Marwa described the operation as a decisive strike against a deeply entrenched cartel network, noting that the discovery highlights the growing international dimension of drug trafficking syndicates operating in Nigeria.

“This is not a rudimentary set-up; it was a sophisticated, highly organised transnational syndicate,” he said.

A key highlight of the operation was the scale and sophistication of the facility, which was concealed deep within forest terrain in an attempt to evade detection.

NDLEA operatives reportedly recovered a wide range of chemicals and equipment used in the production of methamphetamine, including industrial reactors, mixers, condensers, distillation units and large quantities of precursor chemicals such as caustic soda, sulphuric acid and tartaric acid.

Forensic tests conducted at the scene reportedly confirmed that crystalline substances found at the facility tested positive for methamphetamine.

Marwa said the materials had been carefully evacuated, documented and preserved for forensic use in ongoing prosecution.

The agency also linked the Oyo discovery to a similar recent bust in Ogun State, where another methamphetamine production facility was dismantled, raising concerns that criminal networks may be attempting to establish a regional production hub in the South-West.

“The proximity of this discovery to the Ogun State lab uncovered about four weeks ago reveals a desperate attempt by drug barons to establish a synthetic drug manufacturing hub in the South-West axis,” Marwa noted.

He warned that Nigeria would not be allowed to become a safe haven for international drug cartels, stressing that the agency would continue to intensify operations across forests, urban centres and border routes.

“We will find you in the cities, we will track you into the forests, and we will dismantle your infrastructure of death,” he added.

The NDLEA commended its operatives for their professionalism and thanked members of the public for providing intelligence that contributed to the success of the operation.

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The suspects are expected to face prosecution as investigations continue into the wider network believed to be behind the illicit production facility.