The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has raised the alarm over attempts by international drug cartels to establish large-scale methamphetamine production bases in Nigeria.
The agency disclosed that Nigerian and Mexican-linked criminal networks are behind efforts to set up methamphetamine laboratories in forests across Ogun and Oyo States. A similar operation was recently uncovered in Ebonyi State, where suspects were arrested.
NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi said the agency is intensifying intelligence-led operations and working with international law enforcement partners to disrupt drug trafficking networks.
He disclosed that the agency is also expanding its investigations into cyberspace, including social media, the dark web and cryptocurrency networks used by traffickers, while targeting the financial structures that support drug cartels.
Babafemi further revealed that a methamphetamine laboratory uncovered in Ogun State had the potential to produce drugs worth nearly N500 billion.
He warned that the growing production and trafficking of synthetic drugs pose a serious threat to Nigeria, assuring that the NDLEA is taking the fight directly to criminal networks.
