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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arraigned an alleged drug baron, Anochili Innocent, alongside three Mexican nationals and six other Nigerians before the Federal High Court in Lagos over the alleged operation of a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory valued at more than ₦480 billion. The defendants appeared before Justice Musa Kakaki on an 11-count charge bordering on conspiracy, unlawful production and possession of methamphetamine, operating a drug trafficking organisation and illegal possession of precursor chemicals. All ten defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to the NDLEA, the suspects were arrested during coordinated operations carried out between May 16 and 18, 2026, in Ogun and Lagos states. Operatives first uncovered a sophisticated methamphetamine laboratory hidden inside a forest in Mowe, Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, where seven suspects, including the three Mexican nationals described as methamphetamine experts, were arrested. Investigators later apprehended the alleged kingpin at his residence in Lakowe, Lekki, while follow-up raids led to the arrest of two additional suspects linked to the syndicate. The agency alleged that the group produced 2,419.48 kilograms of methamphetamine and stored large quantities of precursor chemicals, including toluene, hydrochloric acid, acetone and phenyl-2-propane.
Following the defendants’ plea, the prosecution informed the court that it had served the defence with its proof of evidence and called seven witnesses to begin the trial. The defence requested more time to prepare its case, prompting Justice Kakaki to remand all ten defendants at the Lagos Correctional Centre and adjourn proceedings to July 16 and July 22, 2026, for trial and the hearing of their bail applications. NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) described the case as one of the agency’s biggest breakthroughs against industrial-scale drug production and transnational drug trafficking in Nigeria.
