The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a suspected methamphetamine laboratory in Enugu State and arrested two men alleged to be leading a Nigerian-Mexican drug trafficking network.
The suspects, identified as 45-year-old Chukwu Obumneme Christopher, also known as Brown, and 60-year-old Chukwu Georginus Monday, alias George, were arrested after months of intelligence gathering and surveillance.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi in a statement on Thursday, the suspects allegedly ran the laboratory in collaboration with Rodriguez Villanueva, whom the agency identified as a Mexican drug cartel member based in Mexico City.
Investigators from the agency’s Special Operations Unit traced the operation to a compound in Eziama community, Obeagu, Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
The agency said surveillance conducted between December 1 and 4, 2025, followed Brown through Lagos, Enugu and Anambra before operatives eventually located him at the compound.
A search of the property led to the discovery of a clandestine laboratory containing improvised reactors and distillation equipment which the NDLEA said could be used to produce methamphetamine on a commercial scale.
The agency said the setup was similar to laboratories earlier dismantled in Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi states.
Among the substances recovered were 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.
Operatives also seized 125kg of N-phenylacetamide, 414kg of lead acetate and 769.6kg of tartaric acid, with the NDLEA saying the substances were consistent with the P2P method of methamphetamine production.
A separate search at George’s family residence produced eight large fuel tanks, four commercial gas burners, four dehydrators and 11kg of ephedrine.
The two men were subsequently arraigned before Justice Mabel Taiye Segun-Bello of the Federal High Court, Enugu Judicial Division, on five counts involving alleged conspiracy, the organisation, management and financing of a drug trafficking organisation, as well as possession of precursor chemicals used in methamphetamine production.
They pleaded to the charges, after which the court fixed October 21, 2026, for trial following the NDLEA’s request for an accelerated hearing.
The agency said three other suspects mentioned in the charges are still at large. They were identified as Uchenna, alias Uche; Celestine Ikemefuna Iwuchukwu; and Villanueva, whom the NDLEA described as a Mexican cartel member.
NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa said the agency would continue pursuing the suspects who remain at large while disrupting international drug trafficking networks operating in Nigeria.
Marwa said the operation reflected the agency’s efforts to prevent Nigeria from becoming a hub for international drug trafficking organisations, adding that intelligence-led operations and cooperation with international partners would remain central to its anti-drug campaign.
