US CITES NDLEA COUNTER- NARC OPERATIONS AS BENCHMARK FOR SUCCESS

US CITES NDLEA COUNTER- NARC OPERATIONS AS BENCHMARK FOR INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS

By Jennifer Nwosu 

The United States has commended the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for dismantling four clandestine methamphetamine laboratories linked to Mexican drug cartels, describing Nigeria's counter-narcotics operations as a model of intelligence-led enforcement and international cooperation.

In a statement released by the Director, Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA said Michael Gonzales, the United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) for Africa and the Middle East, made the commendation during a visit to the agency's headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Gonzales, who assumed office four months ago, was received by the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), and members of the agency's management team.

Gonzales said Nigeria was his first choice for an official visit because of its' continental influence, economic strength and the NDLEA's operational achievements. He highlighted the four methamphetamine laboratory busts recorded this year, citing intelligence gathering, inter-agency coordination, cross-border cooperation, tactical execution and effective investigations and prosecutions as critical elements of the agency's success.

He also warned that intensified pressure on drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere could redirect trafficking routes through Africa towards Europe and Oceania. The shift from plant-based drugs to more potent synthetic substances, he said, makes sustained international cooperation against trafficking networks and their financial operations increasingly important.

Marwa described the partnership between the NDLEA, the US INL and the US Drug Enforcement Administration as an investment in the security of both countries. He stressed that drug trafficking, illegal arms movements and terrorist financing are interconnected, with proceeds from narcotics helping to fund weapons purchases and armed groups operating across the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin.

The NDLEA chairman cited the dismantling of four industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratories linked to Mexican cartel operatives. These included a facility in a forest in Ijebu East, Ogun State, where three Mexican meth experts and Nigerian collaborators were arrested, with illicit substances valued at more than $360 million recovered. About four weeks later, another laboratory was raided in Tapa, Oyo State, leading to the arrest of a Mexican methamphetamine expert and four Nigerian collaborators. Similar facilities were subsequently dismantled in Enugu and Ebonyi states.

Marwa said the operations had disrupted attempts to establish Nigeria as a manufacturing and transit hub for methamphetamine shipments destined for international markets, including Europe, Asia and the United States. He described the agency's forensic scientists, investigators and tactical teams as an important line of defence against drugs reaching communities abroad.

He credited INL assistance with strengthening the NDLEA's forensic and chemical analysis, professional training, financial investigations and equipment maintenance. According to Marwa, the agency recorded 96,157 arrests, including 250 drug barons, seized more than 15.8 million kilograms of illicit drugs and secured 16,691 convictions over the past five years.

Warning that any reduction in US assistance could create openings for criminal and terrorist networks, Marwa urged Washington to maintain or increase its support. He said international criminal organisations coordinate across borders and that governments must sustain the same level of cooperation to disrupt their operations and financial networks.