Saturday, November 7, 2026 -The Federal High Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, has remanded two Mexican nationals and four Nigerians over their alleged involvement in a methamphetamine laboratory in Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area.
The defendants are Jose Villa Ochoa and Carrera Loaiza
Arturo, both Mexicans, alongside Maxwell Uche Nevoh, Olatunji Yusuf, Bankole
Akeem Owolabi and Ganiu Monsiu.
In a statement on Friday, November 6, National Drug Law
Enforcement Agency spokesperson Femi Babafemi said the six were arraigned on
four counts relating to the alleged unlawful transportation and distribution of
chemicals intended for methamphetamine production. All six pleaded not guilty.
Following their pleas, Justice Nkeonye Evelyn Maha ordered
their remand at a correctional centre in Ibadan. According to the NDLEA, Ochoa
and the four Nigerian defendants were arrested on June 17, 2026. Arturo was
arrested on August 19 at the Lagos airport while allegedly attempting to leave
the country.
Babafemi had previously alleged that Ochoa was brought into
Nigeria to provide technical expertise for large-scale methamphetamine
production, while the Nigerian defendants managed logistics and local
operations. In a separate operation in September, the NDLEA reported
discovering an “industrial-scale” methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State.
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