The Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, has ordered the remand of two Mexican nationals and four Nigerians over their alleged involvement in the operation of a methamphetamine laboratory in Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of the state.
The defendants are Jose Villa Ochoa and Carrera Loaiza Arturo, both Mexican nationals, alongside four Nigerians identified as Maxwell Uche Nevoh, Olatunji Yusuf, Bankole Akeem Owolabi and Ganiu Monsiu.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) disclosed the development in a statement issued on Friday, November 6, through its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi.
According to the agency, the six defendants were arraigned on four counts bordering on the alleged unlawful transportation and distribution of chemicals intended for the production of methamphetamine, a highly addictive illegal drug.
All six defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following their pleas, Justice Nkeonye Evelyn Maha ordered that they be remanded at a correctional facility in Ibadan pending further proceedings.
The NDLEA said Ochoa and the four Nigerian defendants were arrested on June 17, 2026, while Arturo was apprehended on August 19 at the Lagos airport as he was allegedly attempting to leave the country.
The agency had earlier alleged that Ochoa was brought into Nigeria to provide technical expertise for the production of methamphetamine on a large scale, while the Nigerian suspects were responsible for logistics and local operations.
The arrests followed investigations into the discovery of a clandestine drug production facility in Tapa village, which the agency linked to an organised network involved in the production and distribution of illicit drugs.
In a related development, the NDLEA announced in September that it had uncovered what it described as an industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory in Ebonyi State.
The latest prosecution forms part of the agency’s intensified efforts to dismantle drug production networks and prevent Nigeria from becoming a hub for the manufacture and distribution of illicit substances.
The defendants are expected to remain in custody as the case proceeds, with the allegations yet to be proven in court.
