US Hails NDLEA Over Dismantling Of Mexican Meth Labs

US Hails NDLEA Over Dismantling of Mexican Meth Labs

The United States has commended the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for dismantling four clandestine methamphetamine laboratories allegedly linked to Mexican drug cartels operating in Nigeria. The commendation was delivered by Michael Gonzales, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) for Africa and the Middle East, during a visit to the NDLEA national headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Gonzales, who was received by the NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised the agency’s operational achievements, intelligence gathering and cooperation with other security agencies. He said Nigeria was his first destination since assuming office four months ago because of the country’s strategic importance in Africa and the NDLEA’s record in combating illicit drug trafficking. Marwa said the NDLEA had dismantled four clandestine methamphetamine laboratories linked to Mexican drug cartels in Ogun, Oyo, Enugu and Ebonyi states. He identified a facility concealed in a forest in Ijebu East, Ogun State, as the largest clandestine methamphetamine laboratory ever discovered in Nigeria. According to him, three Mexican methamphetamine experts and their Nigerian collaborators were arrested during the operation, while illicit substances valued at more than $360 million were recovered. About four weeks later, operatives raided another industrial-scale laboratory in Tapa Village, Oyo State, arresting a Mexican methamphetamine expert and four Nigerian collaborators. Similar facilities were subsequently dismantled in Enugu and Ebonyi states. Marwa said the discoveries suggested an alleged attempt by Mexican drug cartels to establish Nigeria as a production base for methamphetamine destined for international markets. Gonzales warned that intensified pressure on drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere could encourage criminal organisations to explore alternative trafficking routes through Africa, Europe and Oceania. He stressed the importance of sustained international cooperation to disrupt transnational criminal networks, including investigations into the financial systems supporting their operations. The US official said collaboration between the two countries was beneficial to both Nigerian and American communities because illicit drug trafficking affects countries beyond the locations where drugs are produced or transported. He also highlighted the role of training and equipment assistance in strengthening the capacity of partner countries to tackle drug-related crimes. Marwa described the partnership between the NDLEA, the US INL and the US Drug Enforcement Administration as essential to the fight against international drug trafficking. He said proceeds from the illicit drug trade could finance arms purchases and support armed groups and terrorist activities, warning that drug trafficking, arms smuggling and terrorism financing were interconnected security threats. The NDLEA chairman disclosed that, over the past five years, the agency had arrested 96,157 drug offenders, including 250 alleged drug barons.

He added that the agency had seized more than 15.8 million kilogrammes of assorted illicit drugs and secured 16,691 convictions against drug traffickers during the period. Marwa urged the US government to sustain, or increase, its assistance to the agency, noting that support for forensic analysis, professional training, financial investigations and equipment maintenance had strengthened its operations. He warned that any reduction in assistance could create gaps that criminal networks might exploit. The latest commendation highlights the growing importance of cross-border intelligence sharing and coordinated enforcement in tackling organised drug crime. Both countries have emphasised the need to disrupt not only the production and movement of illicit substances but also the financial networks that sustain trafficking organisations. The NDLEA maintains that continued cooperation with international partners is necessary to prevent criminal groups from using Nigeria as a manufacturing or transit point for drugs destined for overseas markets.