The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a Nigerian-Mexican drug cartel operating a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in the Eziama community, Obeagu, Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
According to a statement by the NDLEA Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Thursday, two kingpins, 45-year-old Chukwu Obumneme Christopher, alias Brown, and 60-year-old Chukwu Georginus Monday, alias George, were arrested in connection with operating the methamphetamine laboratory in partnership with Rodriguez Villanueva, a Mexican drug cartel member based in Mexico City, Mexico.
Babafemi said the arrests followed several months of intelligence gathering and surveillance on the syndicate.
The two suspects were subsequently arraigned before Justice Mabel Taiye 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, contrary to the NDLEA Act.
He said that following their pleas, Justice Segun-Bello scheduled the trial for October 21, 2026, following an application by the agency for an accelerated hearing.
Also named in the charge and currently at large are Uchenna, alias Uche; Celestine Ikemefuna Iwuchukwu; and Rodriguez Villanueva, described by the agency as a notorious member of a Mexican drug cartel.
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👉 JOIN WHATSAPP CHANNELInvestigations by a Special Operations Unit of the NDLEA revealed what the agency described as a sophisticated transnational operation by the Nigerian-Mexican cartel.
Babafemi said surveillance conducted by the agency between December 1 and 4, 2025, tracked Brown’s movements between Lagos, Enugu and Anambra states, eventually leading operatives to a compound in Obeagu where a clandestine laboratory capable of producing methamphetamine in commercial quantities was uncovered.
The laboratory was fitted with improvised reactors and distillation apparatus, which the agency said mirrored similar facilities recently 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, 125 kilograms of N-phenylacetamide, 414 kilograms of lead acetate and 769.6 kilograms of tartaric acid, among other controlled substances.
The agency said the recovered chemicals were consistent with a high-potency, P2P-based methamphetamine manufacturing operation.
A related search of George’s family residence also led to the recovery of eight large fuel tanks, four commercial gas burners, four dehydrators and 11 kilograms of ephedrine.
Reacting to the development, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), said the agency remained determined to track down every suspect who had fled in connection with the cartel and ensure they faced the full weight of the law.
Marwa commended the NDLEA officers involved in the operation for their professionalism and doggedness in dismantling the international drug syndicate.
He described the Enugu laboratory bust as further proof that Nigeria would not be allowed to become a haven for transnational drug cartels.
Marwa warned that the agency’s intelligence-driven operations and international partnerships would continue to close every loophole exploited by drug barons, whether local or foreign.
He also charged NDLEA personnel with sustaining the momentum of enforcement until the country was rid of illicit drug production and trafficking.
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