Three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerians plead not guilty to charges over an alleged clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Ogun State

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Friday arraigned 10 defendants, including a 63-year-old alleged drug baron, three Mexican nationals and six other Nigerians, before the Federal High Court in Lagos over the alleged establishment of a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory and the production of illicit drugs valued at more than N480 billion.

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The defendants appeared before Justice Musa Kakaki on an 11-count charge bordering on conspiracy, unlawful production and possession of methamphetamine, operation of a drug trafficking organisation and unlawful possession of precursor chemicals.

Those arraigned are Anochili Innocent, 63, alleged by the NDLEA to be the mastermind of the syndicate; Juan Carlos Meza Torrero, 49; Nemecio Martinez Felix, 46; Jesus López Valles, 40; Nwankwo Sunday Christian, 41; Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor, 38; Igwe Abuchi Remijus, 43; Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua, 23; Omonughwa Kingsley Orike, 45; and Nwobum Emeka, 59.

According to the NDLEA, the suspects were arrested during coordinated operations conducted between May 16 and May 18, 2026, across Ogun and Lagos states.

The agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said operatives first uncovered what he described as a “super clandestine” methamphetamine laboratory concealed inside a forest in Mowe village, Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, where seven suspects, including the three Mexican nationals identified as methamphetamine specialists, were arrested.

Babafemi said Innocent was arrested simultaneously at his residence in the Golf Estate area of Lakowe, Lekki, Lagos.

He added that follow-up operations led to the arrest of Omonughwa at another property linked to the alleged kingpin, while Nwobum was apprehended at a residence allegedly serving as the syndicate’s stash house.

According to the charge, the defendants conspired between February and May 16, 2026, to establish and operate an illegal laboratory for the manufacture of methamphetamine, contrary to the provisions of the NDLEA Act.

The prosecution further alleged that the defendants managed and financed a drug trafficking organisation and transported precursor chemicals, including toluene, phenyl-2-propane, phenyl acetic acid, acetone and hydrochloric acid, from Lagos to the Ogun laboratory.

Investigators alleged that the syndicate unlawfully produced and possessed 2,419.48 kilograms of methamphetamine, with the seized narcotics estimated to have an international street value exceeding N480 billion.

The charge also stated that operatives recovered 358 kilograms of toluene, 1,834 kilograms of hydrochloric acid, 22.5 kilograms of acetone, as well as quantities of phenyl-2-propane and phenyl acetic acid during the operation.

Innocent faces an additional count of allegedly permitting his property to be used for the manufacture of illicit drugs.

All 10 defendants pleaded not guilty when the charges were read before the court.

Following the arraignment, the prosecution informed the court that the defence had been served with the proof of evidence on July 3 and indicated its readiness to commence trial by calling seven witnesses.

Counsel for the defendants, however, requested more time to study the prosecution’s evidence and prepare their defence.

Justice Kakaki subsequently ordered that all the defendants be remanded at the Lagos Correctional Centre and adjourned the case until July 16 and July 22, 2026, for the hearing of their bail applications and the commencement of trial.

Commenting on the case, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, retired Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, described the prosecution as one of the agency’s most significant breakthroughs against industrial-scale drug production in Nigeria.

“The case represents one of the most significant dismantling of an industrial-scale narcotics production operation on Nigerian soil, underscoring the increasingly transnational character of drug trafficking networks now desperate to exploit Nigeria as a manufacturing base for onward export,” Marwa said.

“The presence of Mexican nationals among those arrested and arraigned today speaks to the alarming reach of international drug cartels now attempting to entrench themselves in Nigeria, but the Agency will not relent in tracking down and dismantling every such network, no matter how well concealed or well-financed.”

The case highlights the growing concern over the involvement of international criminal syndicates in Nigeria’s illicit drug trade.

In recent years, the NDLEA has intensified operations against clandestine methamphetamine laboratories, particularly in the South-West, where authorities say foreign experts have increasingly collaborated with local networks to manufacture synthetic drugs for export to markets in Asia, Europe and other parts of Africa.