NDLEA remands two Mexicans, four Nigerians over Oyo meth lab

By: Kingsley Omonobi The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arraigned two Mexican nationals and four Nigerians over their alleged involvement in the establishment and operation of a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State. The six defendants were arraigned 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 NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Friday. The defendants are 56-year-old Mexican, Jose Villa Ochoa; another Mexican, Carrera Loaiza Arturo, 40; and four Nigerians identified as Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43. According to the statement, NDLEA operatives arrested Ochoa and the four Nigerian defendants on June 17, 2026, in a forested area of Tapa village, while Arturo was arrested on August 19, 2026, at the Lagos airport while allegedly attempting to flee the country.

Babafemi said the four-count charge accused the defendants of conspiring to operate a drug trafficking organisation and establishing a clandestine laboratory for the production of methamphetamine between December 2025 and June 2026 at different locations in Lagos and Oyo states. They were also accused of unlawfully transporting and distributing chemical substances intended 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 when the charges were read to them. Following their pleas, Justice Maha ordered that they be remanded at the Correctional Centre in Ibadan. The case was adjourned until January 26, 27, 28 and 29, 2027, for trial. The NDLEA spokesman also disclosed that three other Mexican nationals and seven Nigerians arrested over a similar alleged operation at a forest hideout in Ogun State on May 16, 2026, had been remanded following their arraignment before a Federal High Court in Lagos.

He said the court had rejected their bail application and ordered an accelerated hearing of the case.