Two Mexicans, Four Nigerians Remanded Over Oyo Meth Lab

Two Mexican nationals and four Nigerians have been remanded at a correctional facility in Ibadan, Oyo State, over their alleged involvement in establishing and operating a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory inside a forest in Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area.

The six defendants were remanded on Friday after pleading not guilty to a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, operating a drug trafficking organisation and the illegal production of methamphetamine, a highly addictive psychotropic substance.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arraigned them before Justice Nkeonye Evelyn Maha of the Federal High Court in Ibadan.

The defendants were identified as Mexican nationals Jose Villa Ochoa, 56, and Carrera Loaiza Arturo, 40, alongside four Nigerians: Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43.

According to the NDLEA, in a statement issued on Friday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, five of the defendants, including one of the Mexican nationals, were arrested on June 17, 2026, by its operatives in a forested area of Tapa village, where the clandestine drug laboratory was allegedly established.

The second Mexican, Arturo, was subsequently arrested on August 19, 2026, while allegedly attempting to flee Nigeria through the Lagos airport.

The four-count charge filed against them alleged that between December 2025 and June 2026, at different locations in Lagos and Oyo states, the defendants conspired to operate a drug trafficking organisation and established an illegal laboratory for the production of methamphetamine.

They were also accused of unlawfully transporting and distributing chemical substances intended for the manufacture of the illicit drug, offences punishable under Sections 20(1)(f) and 20(2)(a) of the NDLEA Act.

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

Following their pleas, Justice Maha ordered that they be remanded at the Correctional Centre in Ibadan.

The judge adjourned the case until January 26, 27, 28 and 29, 2027, for trial.

The latest arrests come months after the NDLEA uncovered another alleged clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in a forest hideout in Ogun State.

In that operation, conducted on May 16, 2026, three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian collaborators were arrested over a similar alleged drug manufacturing operation.

The suspects were subsequently arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos, where their bail application was rejected, and the court ordered an accelerated hearing of the case.