The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has raised concerns over what it described as attempts by international drug cartels to establish a methamphetamine production hub in Nigeria’s South-West, following the discovery and dismantling of a large-scale clandestine laboratory in Ogun State.
Speaking during an inspection of the facility in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the operation marked a major breakthrough in Nigeria’s fight against illicit drug production and trafficking.
According to him, the volume of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals recovered from the site was capable of triggering serious public health and security crises not only in Nigeria but across West Africa and other parts of the world.
“It is a landmark achievement for the agency. The quantity of methamphetamine recovered here is enough to create enormous public health and security challenges, not only in Nigeria but across the sub-region and beyond,” Babafemi said.
He noted that the laboratory had been producing methamphetamine on an industrial scale before it was dismantled by NDLEA operatives, adding that the agency acted before the drugs could be distributed into local communities or international markets.
Babafemi said NDLEA Chairman, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), had earlier warned that international drug syndicates were making deliberate efforts to establish methamphetamine production bases in the South-West.
He explained that the criminal networks had abandoned urban centres and were now setting up laboratories in remote forests to evade security agencies.
According to him, the agency remains determined to prevent the cartels from gaining a foothold anywhere in the country.
