Nigeria Shuts Down Industrial Meth Lab, Arrests Mexican National at Lagos Airport
Nigeria's NDLEA dismantled an industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State and arrested a Mexican citizen at Lagos airport as he tried to flee.
Nigerian authorities have dismantled an industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory and arrested a Mexican citizen at Lagos airport, the country's anti-drug agency said on Tuesday.
Arturo Carrera Loaiza was taken into custody in connection with the laboratory, which was located at a construction site in southeast Ebonyi State, according to agency spokesman Femi Babafemi. The suspect was arrested while attempting to leave the West African country.
Babafemi said the operation followed months of detailed investigation into a broader criminal network linked to a series of clandestine drug laboratories discovered in various parts of Nigeria this year.
The raid yielded methamphetamine, three empty dehydrators and hundreds of kilograms of chemical compounds, including acetone, ethanol, chloride salt and hydrochloric acid.
It marks the second time this year that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has taken down a large-scale drug operation. In May, authorities arrested members of an organised drug syndicate involving Nigerians and Mexicans in the country's southwestern region.
West and Central Africa have become a significant hub for the global trafficking and manufacturing of illicit drugs in recent years, a trend the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime attributes to porous borders and corruption.