The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has uncovered alleged plans by international drug cartels to establish large-scale methamphetamine laboratories in forested areas of Ogun and Oyo States.
The agency disclosed that the networks have links to Mexican criminal organisations seeking to expand their operations and gain a foothold in Nigeria’s illicit drug market.
NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, made the disclosure during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu.
According to Babafemi, the agency recently detected clandestine attempts to establish methamphetamine production facilities in forests, prompting intensified efforts to dismantle the networks at their operational bases rather than focusing solely on arrests and drug seizures.
“We’ve seen recently the collaboration between the Nigerian-Mexican cartels trying to have methamphetamine laboratories in the forests of Ogun and Oyo states,” Babafemi said.
He also revealed that a related operation in Ebonyi State had resulted in arrests, although further details would be released after the completion of necessary procedures.
Babafemi said the development highlights the increasingly international character of drug trafficking in Nigeria, with foreign criminal networks seeking to establish production, distribution and financial structures within the country.
He explained that the NDLEA is strengthening collaboration with both Nigerian and international law enforcement agencies to combat transnational drug trafficking.
The agency has also intensified efforts to disrupt trafficking routes after tighter controls at airports, seaports and major highways reportedly forced criminal networks to explore alternative corridors.
Babafemi disclosed that some traffickers now move narcotics through neighbouring countries before attempting to bring them into Nigeria. He cited the recent dismantling of a cartel operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor, which he described as an important route for the distribution of opioids and other illicit substances.
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Beyond arrests and seizures, the NDLEA is increasingly focusing on intelligence gathering, financial investigations and dismantling the structures supporting the drug trade.
The agency is also building its capacity to track drug trafficking conducted through digital platforms, including social media, cryptocurrency networks and the dark web.
Babafemi said intelligence gathered from social media had contributed to several arrests, while officers were receiving specialised training in financial investigations, asset tracing and recovery of proceeds linked to narcotics trafficking.
He further disclosed that the NDLEA Marine Command had intercepted consignments of cocaine, methamphetamine and cannabis on the high seas off Akwa Ibom State. The shipment was reportedly destined for Cameroon.
According to him, the agency is expanding its focus beyond conventional narcotics such as cannabis, cocaine and tramadol to synthetic drugs, including methamphetamine and Captagon.
Babafemi also disclosed that a methamphetamine laboratory discovered in an Ogun forest had the potential to produce drugs estimated to be worth nearly ₦500 billion.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA is implementing an Alternative Development Programme aimed at helping cannabis farmers move away from illicit cultivation and adopt legitimate sources of income.
The pilot programme was launched in three Ondo State communities — Ifon, Ilu-Abo and Eleyewo — where cannabis farmers were encouraged to explore alternative livelihoods such as poultry farming and fishing.
Babafemi said the initiative was designed to provide sustainable economic opportunities for communities dependent on cannabis cultivation while reducing their exposure to criminal activities and law enforcement operations.
The NDLEA spokesman maintained that the agency would continue targeting drug trafficking networks operating through Nigeria’s forests, waterways, digital platforms and international trafficking corridors.
He expressed confidence in the agency’s intensified efforts, declaring: “We’re winning.”
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