LAGOS, Nigeria — Nigerian drug enforcement officials announced they have dismantled a major international drug operation involving both Nigerian and Mexican nationals operating in the country’s southwestern territory.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency announced Wednesday evening that specialized officers discovered and closed down what they described as an “industrial-scale clandestine laboratory” hidden in an isolated wooded area in the Ijebu region of Ogun state, located near Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub. Officials characterized this as the nation’s largest drug seizure to date.
During the raid, authorities detained seven individuals described as members of the criminal organization, including four Nigerian citizens and three Mexican nationals, with an additional three suspects apprehended in subsequent operations, according to an agency statement.
“This network did not just traffic drugs; they were actively manufacturing industrial-scale quantities of highly lethal illicit substances right on our soil, threatening the national security and public health of Nigeria,” Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa, the agency’s head, said.
The enforcement action led to the confiscation of 2.4 tons of chemical substances, including methamphetamine, valued at 480 billion naira ($363 million), along with two motor vehicles, the statement revealed.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has identified West and Central Africa as increasingly significant centers for international drug trafficking and production operations in recent years, citing weak border security and governmental corruption as contributing factors.
