The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a Nigerian-Mexican drug cartel operating a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Eziama community, Obeagu, Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The agency also arrested two suspected kingpins linked to the operation, following months of intelligence gathering and surveillance on the syndicate and its alleged collaboration with a notorious Mexican cartel member based in Mexico City.
The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja.
According to him, the two suspects have been arraigned before Justice Mabel Segun-Bello of the Federal High Court, Enugu Judicial Division, on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, organisation, management and financing of a drug trafficking organisation, as well as unlawful possession of precursor chemicals used in methamphetamine production.
Babafemi said that following their pleas, the court, acting on the agency’s application for an accelerated hearing, fixed October 21 for the commencement of trial.
He added that three other suspects — Uchenna, alias Uche; Celestine Iwuchukwu; and Rodriguez Villanueva, identified as a member of a Mexican drug cartel — remain at large.
Investigations conducted by the NDLEA’s Special Operations Unit revealed what the agency described as a sophisticated transnational drug operation involving Nigerian and Mexican nationals.
Babafemi said NDLEA surveillance conducted between December 1 and 4, 2025, tracked the suspects’ movements across Lagos, Enugu and Anambra states before leading operatives to a compound in Obeagu.
At the location, operatives discovered a clandestine laboratory equipped to produce methamphetamine on a commercial scale.
The facility contained improvised reactors and distillation equipment similar to those recovered from clandestine laboratories previously dismantled in Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi states.
A search of the premises led to the recovery of large quantities of precursor chemicals, including 690 litres of methylamine, 1,000 litres of isopropyl alcohol, 300 litres of hydrochloric acid, 290 litres each of toluene and acetone, 400 litres of liquid sodium hydroxide, 125kg of N-phenylacetamide, 414kg of lead acetate and 769.6kg of tartaric acid.
The NDLEA said the recovered materials were consistent with a high-potency, P2P-based methamphetamine manufacturing operation.
A separate search of the family residence of one of the suspects also resulted in the recovery of eight large fuel tanks, four commercial gas burners, four dehydrators and 11kg of ephedrine, further indicating the scale of the alleged operation.
Reacting to the development, NDLEA Chairman, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to tracking down all suspects linked to the cartel and ensuring that they face the full weight of the law.
Marwa commended the officers involved in the operation for their professionalism and persistence, describing the Enugu laboratory bust as another indication of the agency’s efforts to disrupt transnational drug trafficking networks operating in Nigeria.
He warned that the NDLEA would continue to deploy intelligence-led operations and international cooperation to shut down loopholes exploited by local and foreign drug trafficking organisations.
The NDLEA chairman also charged personnel of the agency to sustain enforcement operations against illicit drug production and trafficking across the country.
