The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Enugu State and arrested two suspected leaders of a Nigerian-Mexican drug trafficking network.
The suspects, identified as 45years old Chukwu Obumneme Christopher, also known as Brown, and 60years old Chukwu Georginus Monday, alias George, were arrested following months of intelligence gathering and surveillance by the agency.
NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said in a statement on Thursday that the suspects allegedly operated the laboratory in partnership with Rodriguez Villanueva, whom the agency identified as a Mexican drug cartel member based in Mexico City.
The investigation by the agency’s Special Operations Unit led operatives to a compound in Eziama community, Obeagu, in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The NDLEA said surveillance conducted between December 1 and 4, 2025, tracked Brown through Lagos, Enugu and Anambra states before operatives traced him to the compound.
A search of the premises uncovered a laboratory equipped with improvised reactors and distillation equipment capable of producing methamphetamine in commercial quantities, according to the agency.
The facility, the NDLEA said, was similar to clandestine laboratories previously dismantled in Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi states.
Operatives recovered large quantities of chemicals from the site, including 690 litres of methylamine, 1,000 litres of isopropyl alcohol, 300 litres of hydrochloric acid, 290 litres each of toluene and acetone, and 400 litres of liquid sodium hydroxide.
The agency also seized 125 kilogrammes of N-phenylacetamide, 414 kilogrammes of lead acetate and 769.6 kilogrammes of tartaric acid.
The NDLEA said the chemicals were consistent with a P2P-based method of methamphetamine production.
A separate search of George’s family residence resulted in the recovery of eight large fuel tanks, four commercial gas burners, four dehydrators and 11 kilogrammes of ephedrine.
The suspects were later arraigned before Justice Mabel Taiye Segun-Bello of the Federal High Court, Enugu Judicial Division, on five counts bordering on conspiracy, the organisation, management and financing of a drug trafficking organisation, as well as unlawful possession of precursor chemicals used in methamphetamine production.
They pleaded to the charges, following which the court fixed October 21, 2026, for the commencement of trial after the NDLEA requested an accelerated hearing.
The agency said three other suspects named in the charges remain at large. They are Uchenna, alias Uche; Celestine Ikemefuna Iwuchukwu; and Villanueva, whom the NDLEA described as a member of a Mexican drug cartel.
NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa said the agency would continue efforts to arrest the remaining members of the syndicate and disrupt transnational drug trafficking networks.
Marwa said the operation demonstrated the agency’s commitment to preventing Nigeria from becoming a base for international drug trafficking organisations.
He added that the NDLEA would continue to rely on intelligence-led operations and international cooperation to combat illicit drug production and trafficking across the country.
Goodness Anunobi
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