Mexican cartels are shifting meth production to Nigeria — US

The United States has warned that Mexican drug cartels are seeking to establish Nigeria as a manufacturing base for methamphetamine and a transit corridor to international markets, following the dismantling of four clandestine laboratories by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs for Africa and the Middle East, Michael Gonzales, gave the warning during a visit to the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said the discoveries highlighted the growing importance of Nigeria’s counter-narcotics operations as US authorities intensify pressure on drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere.
Gonzales described the four laboratory raids recorded by the NDLEA this year as evidence of effective intelligence gathering, inter-agency cooperation, investigations and prosecution.
He said increased pressure on cartels in the Americas was forcing criminal networks to explore alternative trafficking routes through Africa to reach markets in Europe and elsewhere.
The US official likened the development to “squeezing a balloon”, explaining that pressure on traffickers in one region could push them to seek opportunities elsewhere.
He also warned that the growing shift towards synthetic drugs presented additional challenges because such substances could be harder to detect and potentially more dangerous.
Gonzales said the international nature of drug trafficking made cooperation between countries essential, adding that successful operations in Nigeria could help prevent illicit drugs from reaching American communities.
He said the United States had spent more than four decades supporting counter-narcotics operations globally through training, equipment and other forms of assistance.
NDLEA Chairman, Brig Gen Buba Marwa (retd.), said the agency’s investigations had uncovered what he described as a deliberate attempt by Mexican cartels to establish large-scale methamphetamine production facilities in Nigeria.
He identified the four laboratories as being in Ogun, Oyo, Enugu and Ebonyi states.
According to Marwa, the agency dismantled what it described as the largest clandestine methamphetamine laboratory discovered in Nigeria in a forest in Ijebu East, Ogun State.
He said operatives arrested three Mexican methamphetamine experts and their Nigerian collaborators at the facility, where illicit substances worth more than $360m were recovered.
About four weeks later, the agency raided another industrial-scale laboratory in Tapa Village, Oyo State, arresting a Mexican expert and four Nigerian collaborators, he added.
Marwa said similar facilities were subsequently dismantled in Enugu and Ebonyi states, arguing that the discoveries pointed to an organised effort to establish a regional production base.
He maintained that the operations were not intended solely to supply Nigeria’s domestic drug market but could support trafficking networks targeting international destinations.
The NDLEA chairman said the alleged activities also raised wider security concerns because drug trafficking, illegal arms dealing and terrorist financing could intersect.
He explained that proceeds from narcotics trafficking could finance weapons purchases and support armed groups, making intelligence sharing and coordinated enforcement increasingly important.
Marwa said cooperation with the US had strengthened the agency’s capabilities in forensic and chemical analysis, investigations, financial crime detection, professional training and equipment maintenance.
He attributed part of the agency’s recent operational performance to the partnership, disclosing that the NDLEA had arrested 96,157 drug offenders, including 250 major traffickers, over the past five years.
During the same period, the agency seized more than 15.8 million kilogrammes of assorted illicit drugs and secured the convictions of 16,691 traffickers, he said.
Marwa urged Washington to sustain or increase its assistance, warning that any reduction could create gaps that transnational criminal networks might exploit.
He said drug traffickers, arms dealers and terrorists operated across borders and that governments needed to maintain similar levels of cooperation to disrupt their activities.