Police looking for Brazilian behind Namanga meth lab

Police are still looking for a Brazilian national at the heart of the Namanga Methamphetamine labaratory.

Sleuths from the Anti-Narcotics Unit (ANU) believe that Jose Ribiero Santos alias Carlos Pedro got wind of their plans to arrest him as he dropped Israel Alvarado, a Mexican, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on October 5, 2024.

A confidential report seen by the Saturday Standard shows that sleuths suspect he may have left the country for Uganda after Alvarado’s arrest.

Alvarado, who hails from Jalisco State in Mexico’s western region, was arrested on the same day.

He is a former member of the investigative unit of the Mexican police and it is not known why he was out of work since he had been in Kenya for more than four months before his arrest.

Contrary to reports that the lab is owned and run by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), where Alvarado is from, Saturday Standard can authoritatively report that Agwu Ojukwu, a Nigerian, is the man behind the whole operation.

We can also reveal that the lab was yet to start the production of meth, contrary to media reports, as the suspects were arrested before they could finish setting it up.

Information obtained by Saturday Standard is that Pedro, who is wanted in his home country for various crimes, is acquainted with Ojukwu and that the Nigerian reached out to him to help set up the lab.

Pedro is said to have contacted Alvarado and another Mexican, Ignacio Morales Alvarez, and brought them into the country for the work.

Alvarez is said to have gotten frustrated with the work that he protested and left the country.

On the other hand, Alvarado was left to do the work and as time went by his hosts realized that he may not have been the chemist they had been promised to be.

During the raid, police recovered a book that had some formulas they believe were to be used in the cooking, apparatus including gas cylinders and chemicals as well as a mobile phone.

Among the chemicals that were found at the lab are ethanol, methylamine, documly peroxide, acetone, toloune, caustic soda, tartaric acid, hydraulic acid and mercuric chloride.

The lab, which sits on a 10-acre piece of land in Olelepo village, was to be run by Ojukwu and his cousin Egwu Ogba Mba.

Other people linked to the lab are three Kenyans Francis Maina, Caroline Wambui, and Betty Mukami.

When Saturday Standard visited the lab in December 2024 for the trial of suspects before JKIA magistrate Njeri Thuku, only police officers manning the lab were there.

The iron corrugated sheets hold the secrets and material that police say was enough to generate about 60 kilos of meth valued at close to Sh500 million.

Inside the compound were two structures, the lab and another structure with four rooms that were being used as a store and for accommodation.

The first to be arrested by ANU officers was Mukami from her home in Ruiru, Kiambu County on September 16, 2024, and the police discovered a number of documents linking her to the purchase of the land.

Some of the documents, according to the police, show that she was at the heart of importing and distributing the chemicals and equipment recovered at the scene.

The exploration of her phone communication and money transactions evidence linked her to Mba and Ojukwu, who was in Nigeria at the time.

Mba was the second to be arrested on October 1 at his Lavington home where he said he is in the second-hand clothes business and police discovered several documents key to the probe.

He said that he owns nine trucks which are part of his transport business registered as Ngara Associate Investment Company in Nigeria.

In Kenya, he is a co-director of Ngarazi Limited Company which runs an unspecified business, while his Kenyan wife runs a tour company.

The exploration of his phone puts him at the centre of the plot after police established that he was in communication with Mukami and other people found at the scene.

Ojukwu was arrested on the night of October 2 at JKIA after he jetted back into the country from Nigeria and was seeking to leave on October 3.

The police say that he purchased a ticket to leave the country while still at the airport.

In his possession, he had several documents, including the sale agreement of land which is in the name of his Kenyan wife Florence Wangari.

He also had construction plans for the lab.

On October 5, police then arrested Alvarado at JKIA as he sought to leave Kenya for his home country.

Wambui was arrested on October 9 at her home in Ngong, Kajiado County.

Police suspect that she was the one sourcing and showing Ojukwu where to get the chemicals at good prices.

 On November 15, the police arrested Maina from his Juja home in Kiambu County, where they discovered assorted chemicals and forged documents of renowned business companies.

 The documents linked him to the chemicals recovered at Mukami’s home and were similar to the ones found at the scene.

 According to a report seen by Saturday Standard, Ojukwu first came to Kenya in 2007 and the police believe he is a gold smuggler across Africa and beyond.

 He also owns and runs multiple businesses in Nigeria, South Africa, Gabon and China and is allegedly connected to world drug cartels in South America for technical and financial support.

 Police believe that Wambui and Mukami are known to one another.

 Mukami allegedly used her two companies Enormed Pharma Limited and Betlink Supplied Limited to import the chemicals.

 The sleuths believe that Mukami through Betlink got a lab analysis of the chemicals before they were shipped into the country.

 Wambui was critical in the sale and purchase of the land and police also believe that she got connected to Ojukwu through his wife Wangare.

 According to the confidential report seen by Saturday Standard Ojukwu and Mba are suspected to be at the centre of an international drug trafficking ring.

 They allegedly use their legit business to launder money, with the police saying that the said businesses cannot sustain their expensive lifestyles.

 In South Africa, where Ojukwu holds citizenship, the police believe that his businesses, Kings Lodge and North Cliff in Johannesburg, run by his son, are fronts to clean his dirty money.

 Ojukwu also owns a business company Jacome Limited situated in Libreville, Gabon where he does assorted businesses which they believe are just a front to launder his ill-gotten money.

 Police are also seeking help from their partners in Nigeria which they believe would uncover their large-scale money laundering operations and their co-conspirators.

 The sleuths are also seeking the help of authorities in Brazil on information that may lead to the arrest of Pedro, whose whereabouts remain unknown, as well as their partners in Mexico on the whereabouts of Morales.