Mexican Drug Cartels Move Into Nigerian Forests

(NDLEA. Photo by Premuim Times)

International drug networks linked to Mexican cartels have been caught trying to set up large-scale methamphetamine production facilities inside forests across Ogun and Oyo states, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has revealed.

The discovery underscores growing efforts by foreign criminal groups to establish operations on Nigerian soil and take control of the lucrative local drug market.

The NDLEA's Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this information during an interview on a current affairs radio programme.

He explained that officers have moved past simply seizing drugs to actively dismantling the entire network structures behind t@fficking operations, starting from their field bases in the forests.

Related operations conducted in Ebonyi State have already resulted in arrests, with the agency set to release more details once standard procedures are finalised.

These developments highlight how far-reaching the illegal drug trade has become, with foreign criminal groups now actively trying to produce and distribute narcotics directly from within Nigeria rather than just passing product through the country.

The NDLEA is strengthening partnerships with law enforcement agencies both locally and internationally.

According to Babafemi, tackling t@fficking at this scale demands coordinated effort across multiple borders and jurisdictions.

The agency has tightened security at airports, seaports and major highways, forcing t@ffickers to find new routes.

Many have shifted strategy, now moving drugs through neighbouring countries before attempting entry into Nigeria.

Recently, operatives dismantled a criminal network running operations along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor, a major channel historically used to move opioids and other illicit substances into the country.

NDLEA strategy now targets the entire criminal ecosystem.

Beyond arrests and seizures, the agency focuses on gathering intelligence, destroying criminal infrastructure and cutting off the financial networks funding the t@fficking trade.

Officers are being trained in financial investigations and asset recovery specifically linked to drug operations.

The agency has also begun investigating how narcotics move through digital channels social media, cryptocurrency networks and the dark web.

Intelligence from online platforms has already led to several arrests, and specialised training is underway for officers tracking these channels.

Social media influencers have been warned against promoting or glamorising drug use.

The NDLEA is working alongside the Actors Guild of Nigeria and entertainment industry partners to discourage substance abuse promotion.

The NDLEA Marine Command recently intercepted cocaine, methamphetamine and cannabis shipments on the high seas near Akwa Ibom State, apparently headed for Cameroon.

The Marine unit, staffed with personnel trained in countries including the United Kingdom, the United States and Brazil, monitors Nigeria's waterways and supports operations at sea and around ports.

Beyond traditional drugs like cannabis, cocaine and tramadol, the agency is now focusing intensively on synthetic substances including methamphetamine and Captagon.

Cocaine itself isn't produced locally but originates largely in South America and travels through African routes toward Europe and other markets.

The financial rewards are staggering one kilogramme of methamphetamine or cocaine fetches astronomical prices internationally.

A single meth laboratory discovered in an Ogun forest had capacity to produce drugs worth close to half a trillion naira.

The NDLEA has launched an Alternative Development Programme aimed at encouraging cannabis farmers to abandon illegal cultivation for legitimate income sources.

The pilot ran in three Ondo State communities Ifon, Ilu-Abo and Eleyewo where growers were offered activities like poultry farming and fishing instead.

A second phase is now underway, with early results described as promising.

The agency has also prioritised personnel safety through specialised training, life and injury insurance, better protective equipment and new operational vehicles.

Modern AK-47 rifles have been added to the NDLEA arsenal to better protect officers and agency facilities against armed criminal groups.

Residential facilities are being developed for officers and their families in strategic locations accommodation is already operational in Yola, Adamawa State, with projects ongoing in Lagos, Abuja and Enugu.

These measures ensure officers can conduct anti-drug operations without placing themselves or their families at risk from t@fficker retaliation.

Babafemi maintained that the NDLEA will continue targeting criminal networks exploiting Nigeria's forests, waterways, digital platforms and international t@fficking corridors, stating that the agency's intensified operations are steadily reducing the ungoverned spaces previously available to drug t@ffickers.