Kenyan authorities Wednesday dismissed reports of a Mexican large-scale methamphetamine production lab located in Namanga near the Kenya-Tanzania border.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the lab had not been in operation, and was only in its primary stages of being set up when the Mexican, Nigerian and other cartels linked to the syndicate were arrested in September and October 2024.
This followed intelligence reports by among others the National Intelligence Service and their partners on the operations there.
A March 2025 report by the US State Department of State Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs highlighted the shocking revelation confirming that Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most dangerous criminal organizations, was operating a large-scale drugs lab in the country.
This was long after the cartel had been dismantled.
Police revealed that the said clandestine lab was in the process of being set up with samples and structures already in place but the plan never actually materialised since the sleuths managed to nab six suspects, including a Mexican and a Nigerian linked to the same.
Those arrested include Alvarado Israel Vera (Mexican), two Nigerian nationals Agwu Ojukwu and MBA, Agwu Ogba who are brothers, and three Kenyans namely; Betty Muchemi, Caroline Wambui Muchira and Francis Maina Gachau.
“The circumstances surrounding the discovery of the lab and the suspects implicated contain misrepresentations and lack sufficient details about the case,” the DCI said.
“Based on the facts (and others which are sub judice), we clarify that the drug cartel did not succeed in operationalizing their illegal activities in the country and that no member or members of the criminal ring have been deported from the country for trial elsewhere.”
According to the DCI, Anti-Narcotics Unit officers launched an operation on September 12, 2024, following a tip-off from the public regarding the setting up of the lab on a 10-acre parcel of land, located eight kilometers from the Nairobi-Namanga highway.
Authorities discovered a drug lab had been put up, evidenced by the presence of chemicals, formulas, and other lab equipment.
“Upon visiting the site, two iron sheet structures were discovered, with one housing laboratory apparatus, including chemicals, and the other hosting a chemical store, kitchen, and sleeping area. Based on the team’s observations, a drug lab was being set up,” DCI said.
“Indeed, two exercise books bearing lab drawings and chemical formulas were recovered at the scene, alongside a mobile phone belonging to a Mexican suspect.”
A probe led to the arrest of the first suspect Betty on September 14 at her house in Ruiru, after she was linked with the purchase of the land in collaboration with the two Nigerians.
“She is believed to have championed the setting up of the lab at the site, jointly with a second suspect, Agwu Ojukwu, a Nigerian national. From her house, several documents linking her to the purchase, importation and distribution of the land, chemicals and equipment found at the scene were seized,” the DCI said.
One of the Nigerians MBA, Ogwu Ogba was appreahed on October 1, in Lavington while his brother Ojukwu, the mastermind in the syndicate was pounced on at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport two days later October 3 while trying to flee the country.
“Investigations revealed that Ojukwu was the mastermind and architect of the clandestine lab.
He is believed to have visited Kenya for the first time in 2007 allegedly for business, and owns multiple businesses in Nigeria, Gabon, South Africa and China.
He is also linked to a drug cartel in South America,” explained the DCI.
The Mexican suspect Alvarado, already identified to be a former member of the investigative unit in the Mexican police and who was sought for his expertise in cooking meth was also arrested at JKIA while attempting to escape back to his country.
Detectives are still pursuing his fellow Mexicans believed to have gone into hiding after their orientation.
The other suspects Caroline and Francis were apprehended for their roles in the purchase and distribution of the chemicals, together with two Kenyan companies, ENORMED PHARMA LTD and BLTLINK SUPPLIES LTD, which were used in the purchase, importation, and supply of the chemicals for laboratory use.
The authorities say an expansive investigation has since revealed a powerful international nexus traversing the borders of Nigeria, India, Mexico, South Africa and Gabon.
