The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arraigned a 63-year-old drug kingpin, Anochili Innocent, alongside three Mexican nationals and six other Nigerians on charges related to operating a sprawling methamphetamine laboratory. Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA's director of media and advocacy, disclosed that Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos heard the case against the accused on an 11-count charge.
The illegal lab, hidden deep in Mowe forest in Ijebu East local government area of Ogun State, had produced 2,419.48 kilograms of methamphetamine valued at over N480 billion on the international market. The three Mexican nationals—Juan Carlos Meza Torrero, 49; Nemecio Martinez Felix, 46; and Jesus López Valles, 40—were brought before the court alongside the Nigerian suspects.
The Nigerian defendants include Nwankwo Sunday Christian, 41; Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor, 38; Igwe Abuchi Remijus, 43; Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua, 23; Omonughwa Kingsley Orike, 45; and Nwobum Emeka, 59. They were arraigned on Friday, July 10, 2026.
The arrests came following coordinated raids conducted between May 16 and 18, 2026, across Ogun and Lagos states. On May 16, operatives stormed the clandestine laboratory in Mowe forest and apprehended Nwankwo Sunday Christian, Igwe Abuchi Remijus, Ifeanyichukwu Chibuike Joshua, and Egwuonwu Uchenna Victor.
The three Mexican chemists were also captured during the same operation at the super lab site. Anochili Innocent, described as the mastermind, was arrested simultaneously at his mansion located at number 8 Tafawa Balewa Street, Golf Estate, Lakowe, in the Lekki area of Lagos.
In a follow-up operation on May 18, NDLEA operatives raided another property owned by Innocent at House 70, Close 3, Mayfair Estate, Lakowe, Lekki, where they arrested Kingsley Orike Omonughwa. That same day, they also raided the home of Emeka Nwobum, which the NDLEA said served as a storage facility for the cartel's drug supplies.
The prosecution alleges the defendants conspired between February and May 16, 2026, to establish an illegal laboratory for preparing and manufacturing methamphetamine in violation of section 14(b) of the NDLEA Act. They stand accused of managing, organising, and bankrolling a drug trafficking network contrary to section 20(1)(g) of the legislation.
According to the charge sheet, the defendants illegally transported precursor chemicals—including toluene, phenyl-2-propane, phenyl acetic acid, acetone, and hydrochloric acid—from Lagos to the Mowe facility using three vehicles: a Toyota Tacoma, a Mercedes Benz marked APP 942 YL, and a Toyota Highlander marked GWA 662DJ. This violates section 20(1)(f).
The accused also face charges for unlawfully manufacturing and possessing the 2,419.48-kilogram haul of methamphetamine under sections 11(a) and 19 of the act. Additional counts relate to the possession of massive quantities of precursor chemicals recovered at the laboratory site, including 358 kilograms of toluene, 1,834 kilograms of hydrochloric acid, and 22.5 kilograms of acetone, in breach of section 20(1)(e).
