By our reporter 15.9.2026
A Mexican methamphetamine kingpin Arturo Carrera Loaiza has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency while trying to leave Nigeria.
According NDLEA chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (rtd) Mr. Carrera Loaiza’s arrest at the Murtala Mohammed Airport Lagos came after another industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State was smashed, laboratories in Oyo and Ogun States have previously been dismantled
He stated that on June 17, another Mexican national, 56-year-old Jose Villa Ochoa, and four Nigerian collaborators were arrested at a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in a forested part of Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Marwa disclosed that Ochoa was brought to Nigeria by Mr. Carrera Loaiza who entered Nigeria on June 10, 2026, alongside another Mexican national, Jose Ceballos Perez.
” On August 19, 2026, our operatives tracked down and arrested Arturo Carrera Loaiza attempting to flee the country through the Lagos airport. During interrogation, he claimed he had been invited to Nigeria by a Nigerian contact, identified only as “Henry,” under the guise of a restaurant business venture, and denied any knowledge of methamphetamine manufacturing or involvement with the Tapa village laboratory.
However, he said investigators recovered images of Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and standing among equipment consistent with methamphetamine production.
He added that analysis of the location metadata in the images led investigators to a property under construction at Isiata Ugoni Okposi, Ebonyi State.
“On 30th August 2026, our operatives moved on the Ebonyi State property, linked to one John Samuel Ivo Okike.
“Critically, the footage captured, at about 9:00 p.m. on 21st August 2026, the movement of chemicals and laboratory equipment out of the property, with John Samuel Ivo Okike seen directing the operation alongside others assisting in the relocation,” Marwa stated.
The recovered items included 442.8kg of acetone, 37.1kg of toluene, 20kg of an acetone/bromobenzene mixture, 1.7kg of ethanol, 5.1kg of chloride salt, 31.5kg of hydrochloric acid, 200kg of P2B and 1kg of tartaric acid.
“Let me be unequivocal, Nigeria will not be allowed to become a haven for transnational drug cartels seeking to relocate their laboratories from other jurisdictions into our forests and rural communities.”
