Key facts
- An alleged Mexican drug kingpin, Arturo Carrera Loaiza, was arrested in Nigeria last month.
- The arrest led to the discovery of a suspected industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi state.
- Loaiza was detained at Lagos international airport while attempting to leave the country.
- Investigators found digital images allegedly linking Loaiza to meth production equipment.
- Loaiza denies involvement, stating he was in Nigeria for a restaurant business venture.
- Nigerian authorities have previously discovered two other suspected methamphetamine laboratories linked to Mexicans.
An alleged Mexican drug kingpin, Arturo Carrera Loaiza, 40, was arrested last month at Lagos international airport in Nigeria as he attempted to depart the country. The arrest by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) led to the discovery of a suspected industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi state.
Officials allegedly found digital images on Loaiza's devices showing him in a laboratory coat with equipment consistent with meth production. The location data from these pictures guided officers to a property in Ebonyi state, where chemicals and drug-making equipment were reportedly found. A CCTV memory card recovered from the suspected laboratory contained footage of an individual resembling Loaiza wearing a blue laboratory coat and directing others removing chemicals and equipment.
Loaiza has denied any involvement in methamphetamine production, stating he was invited to Nigeria for a restaurant business venture by a local contact, according to an NDLEA statement. Investigators also found chemicals, dehydrators, condensers, a reaction pot, weighing scales, mixers, drums, gas burners, and a sieve with methamphetamine traces at an isolated house in a neighboring community.
This incident follows two other discoveries of suspected methamphetamine laboratories allegedly linked to Mexicans in recent months. In June, four Nigerians were arrested after a raid on another suspected laboratory in a forest in Oyo state, where Loaiza allegedly recruited a fellow Mexican to work. A month prior, three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerians were arrested at a similar industrial-scale facility in another part of the country.
NDLEA chairman Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa stated that these operations indicate international criminal groups are attempting to establish drug-production facilities in Nigeria's forests and rural communities. He vowed that Nigeria would not become a haven for such cartels. The NDLEA's investigation into the network, including its financiers and facilitators, is ongoing. Synthetic drugs like meth can be produced anywhere with the right chemicals and expertise, making them attractive for organized crime groups to scale up production, and West Africa offers secluded production sites due to its forested land.