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The United States has raised concerns over the growing activities of Mexican drug cartels in Nigeria, warning that criminal networks are seeking to establish the country as a major centre for methamphetamine production and distribution.
The warning came as the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) disclosed that it had dismantled four clandestine methamphetamine laboratories in different parts of the country, including Enugu, Ebonyi, Ogun and Oyo states.
Michael Gonzales, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs for Africa and the Middle East, expressed concern over the development during a visit to the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday. He described the threat posed by Mexican drug cartels as real and called for sustained cooperation to combat their operations.
According to the NDLEA, recent investigations have uncovered suspected collaborations between Mexican drug specialists and Nigerian criminal networks involved in the establishment of large-scale methamphetamine production facilities.
In Enugu State, the agency recently uncovered a clandestine laboratory in Eziama community, Obeagu, Awgu Local Government Area, leading to the arrest of two Nigerian suspects allegedly working with a Mexican cartel member. The facility was reportedly equipped with improvised reactors and distillation apparatus capable of producing methamphetamine in commercial quantities.
The agency also disclosed that a separate investigation led to the discovery of a laboratory in Ebonyi State, following the arrest of a Mexican national, Arturo Carrera Loaiza, who was allegedly involved in recruiting foreign experts for drug production in Nigeria. Similar operations in Ogun and Oyo states had earlier resulted in the arrest of Mexican nationals and their Nigerian collaborators.
NDLEA Chairman, Mohamed Buba Marwa, said the discoveries indicated that the activities of the suspected networks were not isolated incidents, but part of a wider effort to establish drug manufacturing operations in the country.
He warned that the proliferation of clandestine laboratories posed serious security and public health concerns, while reaffirming the agency’s commitment to dismantling criminal networks through intelligence gathering, enforcement operations and international partnerships.
The US official commended the NDLEA for its operations and stressed the importance of continued collaboration between both countries in tackling transnational drug trafficking and the criminal networks behind it.
