National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a Nigerian-Mexican drug cartel operating a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Eziama community, Obeagu, Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Gatekeepers News reports that the operation led to the arrest of two suspected kingpins identified as 45-year-old Chukwu Obumneme Christopher, also known as Brown, and 60-year-old Chukwu Georginus Monday, alias George. The agency said the suspects allegedly operated the laboratory in partnership with Rodriguez Villanueva, whom it described as a Mexican drug cartel member based in Mexico City.
According to Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, the arrests followed several months of intelligence gathering and surveillance by the agency’s Special Operations Unit.
The agency said surveillance conducted between December 1 and 4, 2025, tracked Brown’s movements across Lagos, Enugu and Anambra states before operatives traced him to a compound in Obeagu. A search of the premises uncovered a clandestine laboratory equipped with improvised reactors and distillation equipment capable of producing methamphetamine in commercial quantities.
NDLEA said large quantities of precursor chemicals were recovered from the laboratory. They included 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 kilogrammes of N-phenylacetamide, 414 kilogrammes of lead acetate and 769.6 kilogrammes of tartaric acid.
The agency said the substances recovered were consistent with a P2P-based methamphetamine production process. A search of George’s family residence also resulted in the recovery of eight large fuel tanks, four commercial gas burners, four dehydrators and 11 kilogrammes of ephedrine.
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, the organisation, management and financing of a drug trafficking organisation and unlawful possession of precursor chemicals used in methamphetamine production.
They pleaded to the charges, after which the court fixed October 21, 2026, for trial following an application by the NDLEA for an accelerated hearing.
Three other suspects named in the charge — Uchenna, alias Uche; Celestine Ikemefuna Iwuchukwu; and Villanueva — remain at large, according to the agency.
NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa said the agency would continue efforts to locate the fleeing suspects and bring them before the court.
He described the Enugu laboratory discovery as evidence of the agency’s efforts to prevent Nigeria from becoming a base for transnational drug cartels, adding that intelligence-driven operations and international cooperation would continue to target those involved in illicit drug production and trafficking.
