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•Recovers N480bn worth of hard drugs, precursors from massive clandestine lab in Ogun forest
From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
After months of painstaking and credible intelligence gathering, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dealt another crippling blow to transnational organised crime by completely dismantling a highly sophisticated, multi-million-dollar Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine production syndicate.
The clinical and simultaneous operation, executed by elite operatives of the Agency’s Special Operations Unit (SOU), led to the shutdown of an industrial-scale clandestine laboratory — the biggest ever discovered in Nigeria — hidden in a remote forest in the Ijebu area of Ogun State. The operation also led to the seizure of the largest multi-billion-naira meth haul in the country’s history, the arrest of the cartel’s kingpin, three Mexican technical experts, and six other top local collaborators.
Meanwhile, in another successful milestone operation, operatives of the agency on Monday, May 18, 2026, stormed a property owned by the baron at House 70, Close 3, Mayfair Estate, Lakowe, Lekki, Lagos, where another key member of the syndicate, Kingsley Orike Omonughwa, 44, was arrested. Investigators thereafter stormed the residence of another syndicate member, Emeka Nwobum, whose property served as the cartel’s strategic stash house.
The arrest brings to 10 the total number of cartel members, including the baron, the three Mexican specialists, and six Nigerian collaborators currently in NDLEA custody.
Giving details of the major operational success at a media briefing at the Agency’s headquarters in Abuja yesterday, an elated Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd), said that following months of painstaking and credible intelligence gathering, operatives of the Special Operations Unit launched well-coordinated strikes across Ogun and Lagos states within a space of 48 hours last week.
According to him, “Barely two weeks ago, we announced the successful takedown of a high-profile Drug Trafficking Organisation (DTO) headed by Simon Amadi in a complex, multi-country operation involving the US Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as Swiss, French and Greek law enforcement agencies. Today, I am proud to announce that the NDLEA has struck another crippling blow to the heart of transnational organised crime.
“Through a clinical and simultaneous operation executed by the elite operatives of our Special Operations Unit (SOU), we have successfully dismantled a sophisticated transnational methamphetamine production syndicate jointly run by a Nigerian drug cartel and their Mexican counterparts.
“This network did not just traffic drugs; they were actively manufacturing industrial-scale quantities of highly lethal illicit substances right on our soil, thereby threatening the national security and public health of Nigeria.
“After months of painstaking and credible intelligence gathering, our operatives on Saturday, May 16, 2026, launched well-coordinated simultaneous strikes in both Ogun and Lagos states.
“The primary target was a remote farm located at Abidagba Forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State. This farm was being used as a massive and highly dangerous clandestine methamphetamine laboratory by the Anochili Innocent Drug Trafficking Organisation (DTO).
“Simultaneously, another tactical team closed in on the mastermind’s luxury fortress at No. 8 Tafawa Balewa Street, Golf Estate, Lakowe, Lekki area of Lagos State — the residence of the drug baron, Anochili Innocent.
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“At the farm in the Ijebu forest, our operatives overran the clandestine laboratory, secured the perimeter and caught the syndicate completely off guard. At the laboratory, we apprehended seven key members of the cartel processing illicit substances.
“Most notably, the operation confirms our intelligence regarding the importation of foreign technical expertise by local cartels. Among those arrested are three Mexican nationals brought into the country specifically to cook this deadly substance, alongside four Nigerian collaborators.
“The suspects arrested in the forest laboratory are: Nwankwo Sunday Christian, 41; Igwe Abuchi Remijus, 42; Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua, 23; and Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor, 38, as well as the three Mexican meth experts: Martinez Felix Nemecto, 46; Jesus López Valles, 40; and Torrero Juan Carlos, 51.
“Simultaneously, another tactical team closed in on the luxury residence of the cartel’s mastermind, Anochili Innocent, located at No. 8 Tafawa Balewa Street, Golf Estate, Lakowe, Lekki area of Lagos State. The drug baron was cornered and arrested. A meticulous search of his premises led to the recovery of the international passports and mobile phones of the three arrested Mexican cooks, directly linking him to the importation and management of the foreign criminals.”
Not done with dismantling the drug cartel, Marwa disclosed that relentless follow-up operations on Monday, May 18, 2026, led NDLEA operatives to another property owned by the baron at House 70, Close 3, Mayfair Estate, Lakowe, Lekki, Lagos, where another key member of the syndicate, Kingsley Orike Omonughwa, 44, was arrested, after which investigators stormed the residence of another syndicate member, Emeka Nwobum, whose property served as the cartel’s strategic stash house.
The arrest brings to 10 the total number of cartel members, including the baron, the three Mexican specialists and six Nigerian collaborators currently in NDLEA custody.
Providing further details of the operation, the NDLEA boss said: “I equally directed the deployment of our specialised Chemical and Forensic Team to the clandestine laboratory to test, weigh and secure the chemical components. The sheer volume of dangerous precursor chemicals, industrial solvents and finished products recovered is staggering.
“The operation yielded a massive 2,419.48 kilograms (over 2.4 tonnes) of chemical materials, including highly toxic, volatile and crystallised methamphetamine worth $362,922,000 in the international market. This translates to over N480 billion. Imagine this humongous amount in the control of criminal elements. Also recovered from the cartel were a Toyota Tacoma vehicle used for operations at the clandestine meth laboratory and a Toyota Highlander seized from the kingpin’s residence.
“To put this in perspective, the 2,419.48 kilograms of finished and liquid methamphetamine seized represent millions of street doses that would have flooded our local communities and international markets, causing untold destruction, psychosis and violence.”
Marwa noted that the dismantling of the Anochili Innocent DTO, coming directly on the heels of the Simon Amadi cartel takedown, sends an unequivocal and resounding message to drug barons both locally and internationally that Nigeria is a hostile territory for their business. He warned that the Agency would continue to hunt them down wherever they are located.
“We are fully aware of the shifting tactics of these cartels, including the disturbing trend of hiring South American cartel specialists to set up production factories in our rural communities. Let it be known that no matter how deep into the bush you hide, no matter how secure your gated estate is, the NDLEA will hunt you down, disrupt your networks and seize your ill-gotten wealth,” Marwa warned.
While appreciating the support from international partners in keeping Nigeria and the global community safe from the criminal activities of drug cartels, he commended “the extraordinary bravery, professionalism and precision of the NDLEA SOU operatives and our Chemical and Forensic Team. Nigeria owes you all a debt.”
