NDLEA Arrests Mexicans, Nigerians In N480bn Meth Bust

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency 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 N480bn and arresting 10 suspects.

The breakthrough was disclosed on Wednesday during a media briefing in Abuja by the Chairman of the NDLEA, Buba Marwa, who described the operation as a major blow against transnational organised crime.

The operations, conducted across Ogun State and Lagos State 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.

“Through a clinical, simultaneous operation executed by the elite operatives of our SOU, we have successfully dismantled a sophisticated, transnational methamphetamine production syndicate run jointly by a Nigerian drug cartel and their Mexican counterparts,” Marwa said.

Marwa said that the primary target was a remote farm located at Abidagba forest, in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State.

“At this laboratory, we apprehended seven key members of the cartel processing illicit substances. Most notably, the operation confirms our intelligence regarding the importation of foreign technical expertise by local cartels.”

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.

Marwa further disclosed that another tactical team simultaneously raided the Lekki residence of the alleged cartel kingpin at Golf Estate, Lakowe, Lagos, where investigators recovered the passports and mobile phones of the arrested Mexican nationals.

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 $362.9m in the international market.

“This translates to over N480bn Imagine this humongous amount in the control of criminal elements!”

He added that the quantity recovered represented millions of street doses capable of causing widespread addiction, violence, and psychological damage.

“To put this in perspective, the 2,419.48 kilogrammes of finished and liquid methamphetamine seized represents millions of street doses that would have flooded our local communities and international markets, causing untold destruction, psychosis, and violence,” the NDLEA chairman said.

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.

Marwa 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.

In April, NDLEA operatives raided three illicit drug warehouses in Lagos and recovered opioids valued at N16.9bn.