NDLEA Uncovers Mexican Cartels’ Alleged Plan to Make Nigeria a Meth Production Hub

Nigeria’s fight against illicit drugs has taken on a wider international dimension following the discovery of four methamphetamine laboratories linked to Mexican drug cartels, raising concerns about the country’s possible use as a production and trafficking base for overseas markets.

The United States has commended the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for dismantling the laboratories, describing the operations as an example of the importance of intelligence sharing and international cooperation in tackling transnational drug networks.

Michael Gonzales, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs for Africa and the Middle East, gave the commendation during a visit to the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.

Gonzales, who assumed the role about four months ago, said he selected Nigeria as his first destination because of the country’s strategic importance in Africa and the agency’s record of counter-narcotics operations.

He highlighted the four laboratory seizures recorded by the NDLEA this year, noting that such operations involved intelligence gathering, coordination among agencies, investigations and prosecution.

The US official also stressed that drug trafficking was an international challenge requiring countries to work together, warning that criminal networks could change their routes and methods when enforcement pressure increased elsewhere.

NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), said the agency’s investigations pointed to an alleged attempt by Mexican cartels to establish Nigeria as a major methamphetamine manufacturing base.

Marwa disclosed that operatives had dismantled a large clandestine laboratory in a forest in Ijebu East, Ogun State, where three Mexican methamphetamine experts and Nigerian collaborators were arrested. The agency said illicit substances valued at more than $360 million were recovered during the operation.

He said another industrial-scale laboratory was subsequently raided at Tapa Village in neighbouring Oyo State, leading to the arrest of a Mexican expert and four Nigerian collaborators.

Similar facilities were also dismantled in Enugu and Ebonyi states, according to the NDLEA chairman. He said the discoveries suggested that the operations were not isolated incidents but part of a wider effort to establish production capacity in Nigeria.

Marwa warned that the alleged plan went beyond supplying the domestic market, saying the cartels could be seeking to use West Africa as a corridor for moving large quantities of methamphetamine to Europe, Asia and the United States.

He linked the development to intensified pressure on drug trafficking networks in the Western Hemisphere, arguing that criminal organisations were exploring alternative routes to reach their target markets.

The NDLEA chairman said the agency’s work was also connected to broader security concerns, including the movement of illicit weapons and the financing of armed groups. He argued that drug trafficking, arms smuggling and terrorism financing could intersect through criminal networks operating across borders.

Marwa credited cooperation with the United States with strengthening the agency’s capacity in forensic and chemical analysis, professional training, investigations, financial-crime detection and equipment maintenance.

He said the NDLEA had arrested 96,157 drug offenders, including 250 drug barons, seized more than 15.8 million kilogrammes of assorted illicit drugs and secured 16,691 convictions over the past five years.

The chairman appealed to Washington to sustain or increase its assistance, warning that any reduction in support could create opportunities for criminal and terrorist networks.

The latest developments underscore the challenge facing Nigerian authorities as they seek to prevent the country from becoming a manufacturing and transit point for synthetic drugs. Beyond intercepting consignments, the response will depend on dismantling production facilities, identifying the financiers and organisers behind them, and strengthening cooperation with international partners.

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