NDLEA SMASHES MEXICAN-NIGERIAN METH RING: SIX REMANDED OVER OYO FOREST LAB

Two Mexican nationals, four Nigerian collaborators face trial over alleged clandestine drug factory; court fixes January 2027 hearing dates

Two Mexican nationals and four Nigerian collaborators have been remanded at the Correctional Centre in Ibadan following their arraignment over the establishment and operation of a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in a forest at Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.

Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that the six defendants were arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) before Justice Nkeonye Evelyn Maha of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, drug trafficking and the illegal production of methamphetamine.

The suspects include 56-year-old Mexican national, Jose Villa Ochoa, and four Nigerians identified as Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43.

According to Babafemi, the five were arrested on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, by NDLEA operatives in a forested area of Tapa village.

The second Mexican national, 40-year-old Carrera Loaiza Arturo, was subsequently tracked and arrested on August 19, 2026, while allegedly attempting to flee Nigeria through the Lagos airport.

The four-count charge accused the defendants of conspiring, between December 2025 and June 2026, at different locations in Lagos and Oyo states, to operate a drug trafficking organisation and establish a clandestine laboratory for the production of methamphetamine, a psychotropic substance.

They were also accused of unlawfully transporting and distributing chemical substances for the manufacture of methamphetamine, contrary to Section 20(1)(f) and punishable under Section 20(2)(a) of the NDLEA Act.

All six defendants pleaded not guilty after the charges were read to them in a language they understood.

Following their pleas, Justice Maha ordered their remand at the Correctional Centre in Ibadan and adjourned the case to January 26, 27, 28 and 29, 2027, for trial.

In a related development, three other Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators arrested over the establishment of a similar clandestine drug laboratory in a forest hideout in Ogun State have also been remanded following their arraignment before a Federal High Court in Lagos.

The group was arrested during an earlier NDLEA operation on Saturday, May 16, 2026. The trial judge reportedly rejected their bail application and ordered an accelerated hearing of the case.

The latest arraignment underscores the agency’s ongoing efforts to dismantle clandestine drug production networks and bring suspected local and international collaborators to justice.