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Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) announced it has broken up a large-scale methamphetamine production syndicate, marking the country’s biggest seizure of its kind. The operation resulted in the confiscation of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals valued at approximately $363 million, along with the arrest of 10 suspects, including three Mexican nationals.
According to the NDLEA, the raids targeted a clandestine industrial laboratory on a farm in Ogun State’s Abidagba forest and connected properties in Lagos. Authorities seized about 2.4 tons of methamphetamine and related chemical materials following months of intelligence gathering and a 48-hour coordinated operation. NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa described the bust as evidence of foreign “technical expertise” being imported to establish local drug production.
Seven suspects, including the three Mexicans identified as meth “cooks,” were detained at the farm laboratory. The alleged ringleader, Nigerian national Anochili Innocent, was arrested at his residence in Lagos.
Officials noted that the massive haul — equivalent to millions of street-level doses — signals a troubling shift, with international drug cartels increasingly using Nigeria as a manufacturing base rather than just a transit point. The country has seen growing involvement in the global illegal drug trade, facilitated by porous borders and connections to Latin American networks.
Marwa pledged that the agency would intensify efforts against both local and transnational drug networks.
