The Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan has ordered the remand of two Mexican nationals and four Nigerian accomplices at the Ibadan Correctional Centre over their alleged involvement in operating a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Oyo State.
The defendants—Mexicans Jose Villa Ochoa (56) and Carrera Loaiza Arturo (40), alongside Nigerians Maxwell Uche Nevoh (30), Olatunji Yusuf (37), Bankole Akeem Owolabi (45), and Ganiu Monsiu (43)—were arraigned before Justice Nkeonye Evelyn Maha on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, drug trafficking, and the operation of an illegal drug laboratory.
According to a statement released Friday by National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Ochoa and his four Nigerian collaborators were apprehended by NDLEA operatives on June 17, 2026, deep within a forested area of Tapa village in Ibarapa North Local Government Area.
The second Mexican national, Arturo, was later intercepted on August 19, 2026, while attempting to flee Nigeria via the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
The court charge revealed that the syndicate conspired between December 2025 and June 2026 across Lagos and Oyo states to set up a drug trafficking network and manufacture methamphetamine, a high-potency controlled psychotropic substance.
