The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has dismantled a transnational methamphetamine production syndicate allegedly operated by a Nigerian drug cartel in collaboration with Mexican nationals, recovering illicit substances valued at over N480 billion and arresting 10 suspects.
The breakthrough was disclosed on Wednesday during a media briefing in Abuja by the Chairman of the NDLEA, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, who described the operation as a major blow against transnational organised crime.
The operations, conducted across Ogun and Lagos states within 48 hours, led to the discovery of a large-scale methamphetamine laboratory hidden in a forest in Ijebu, the arrest of suspected cartel members including three Mexican nationals, and the seizure of over 2.4 tonnes of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals.
According to Marwa, the syndicate in Ijebu was not only trafficking drugs but also manufacturing “industrial-scale quantities” of methamphetamine within Nigeria, posing serious threats to public health and national security.
Marwa said that the primary target was a remote farm located at Abidagba forest, in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun.
He added that among those arrested were three Mexican nationals allegedly brought into Nigeria specifically to manufacture methamphetamine, alongside four Nigerian collaborators.
According to the NDLEA chairman, the operation followed months of intelligence gathering before operatives of the agency’s Special Operations Unit launched coordinated raids on May 16 across Ogun and Lagos states.
He added that follow-up operations later led operatives to another property in Mayfair Estate, Lakowe, where another suspected member of the syndicate was arrested.
The NDLEA said the crackdown led to the arrest of 10 suspects in total, including the alleged cartel leader, three Mexican nationals and six Nigerian collaborators.
According to the agency, operatives recovered 2,419.48 kilogrammes of crystallised and liquid methamphetamine, precursor chemicals and industrial solvents allegedly used for drug production.
Marwa said the seized drugs were valued at about $362.9 million in the international market.
He added that the quantity recovered represented millions of street doses capable of causing widespread addiction, violence and psychological damage.
The agency also recovered a Toyota Tacoma allegedly used for operations at the meth laboratory and a Toyota Highlander seized from the residence of the suspected kingpin.
He warned that the NDLEA was monitoring the growing trend of local cartels bringing in foreign specialists from South America to establish drug production facilities in rural communities across the country.
Nigeria continues to battle widespread drug trafficking and illicit drug production, with the NDLEA intensifying operations against local and transnational cartels.
Also in May, the agency, working with international law enforcement partners, dismantled a transnational criminal syndicate accused of laundering drug proceeds worth hundreds of billions of naira across Europe and Nigeria.