Six Defendants Remanded in Ibadan Methamphetamine Case

The Federal High Court in Ibadan remanded two Mexican nationals and four Nigerians after they pleaded not guilty to four charges involving an alleged methamphetamine operation in Oyo State. Justice Nkeonye Evelyn Maha ordered that the defendants be held at the Correctional Centre in Ibadan pending further proceedings. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) alleges that the six conspired to establish and operate a drug trafficking organisation and a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory. The charges also accuse them of transporting and distributing chemicals intended for drug production without lawful authority. The agency says the alleged activities took place at different locations in Lagos and Oyo states between December 2025 and June 2026. The defendants are Mexican nationals Jose Villa Ochoa, 56, and Carrera Loaiza Arturo, 40, and Nigerians Maxwell Uche Nevoh, 30, Olatunji Yusuf, 37, Bankole Akeem Owolabi, 45, and Ganiu Monsiu, 43. The charges were read to them in a language they understood, and all six denied the allegations. According to the NDLEA, Ochoa and the four Nigerian defendants were arrested during an operation at Tapa village in Ibarapa North Local...