Two Mexican nationals and four Nigerians have been held at a correctional facility in Ibadan, Oyo State, for allegedly setting up and running a secret methamphetamine lab in a forest in Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area.
The six defendants were remanded on Friday after pleading not guilty to four charges, including conspiracy, running a drug trafficking group, and illegally producing methamphetamine, which is a highly addictive drug.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arraigned them before Justice Nkeonye Evelyn Maha of the Federal High Court in Ibadan.
The defendants are Mexican nationals Jose Villa Ochoa, 56, and Carrera Loaiza Arturo, 40, and four Nigerians: Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30; Olatunji Yusuf, 37; Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45; and Ganiu Monsiu, 43.
The NDLEA said in a statement from its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, that it arrested five of the defendants, including one Mexican national, on June 17, 2026. The arrests took place in a forested area of Tapa village, where the drug laboratory was allegedly set up.
The other Mexican national, Arturo, was later arrested on August 19, 2026, while he was allegedly trying to leave Nigeria through Lagos airport.
The four-count charge against them claims that between December 2025 and June 2026, at various locations in Lagos and Oyo states, the defendants conspired to run a drug trafficking group and set up an illegal methamphetamine lab.
They also face accusations of illegally transporting and distributing chemicals meant for making the drug. These offences are 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.
After their pleas, Justice Maha ordered that they be held at the Correctional Centre in Ibadan.
The judge postponed the trial to January 26, 27, 28, and 29, 2027.
These recent arrests happened a few months after the NDLEA found another suspected methamphetamine lab hidden in a forest in Ogun State.
During that operation on May 16, 2026, authorities arrested three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerians for allegedly running a similar drug manufacturing scheme.
The suspects later appeared before a Federal High Court in Lagos, and the court denied their bail request and ordered the case to be heard quickly.