Omanghana
Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has dismantled a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in Enugu State and arrested two men accused of working with a Mexico-based drug trafficker.
The agency identified the suspects as Chukwu Obumneme Christopher, 45, also known as Brown, and Chukwu Georginus Monday, 60, also known as George. It said months of surveillance led officers to the facility in Eziama, Obeagu, in Awgu Local Government Area. The NDLEA alleges that the men operated it in partnership with Rodriguez Villanueva, whom it described as a cartel member based in Mexico City.
Officers recovered chemicals and equipment that the agency says were intended for methamphetamine production. The reported seizures included 690 liters of methylamine, 1,000 liters of isopropyl alcohol, 400 liters of liquid sodium hydroxide and 769.6 kilograms of tartaric acid.
Christopher and Monday appeared before Justice Mabel Taiye Segun-Bello at the Federal High Court in Enugu on five charges, including conspiracy, offences relating to the management and financing of a drug trafficking organisation, and unlawful possession of precursor chemicals. Both pleaded not guilty. Their trial is scheduled to begin on October 21, 2026. The NDLEA said three other people named in the case remain at large.
The Enugu case follows NDLEA operations at suspected methamphetamine laboratories in Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi states since May. The agency has reported arrests of Mexican nationals in those investigations, including Arturo Carrera Loaiza, who was arrested at Lagos airport in connection with the Ebonyi case. The allegations against those arrested remain subject to legal proceedings.
Source: Omanghana
