US Hails NDLEA Over Mexican Meth Lab Busts As Marwa Seeks Sustained Support

US Hails NDLEA

OpenLife News reports that the United States has commended the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for its operational successes, particularly the dismantling of four Mexican-linked methamphetamine laboratories this year.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) for Africa and the Middle East, Michael Gonzales, gave the commendation on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, during a visit to the NDLEA national headquarters in Abuja.

Gonzales, who was received by Chairman/CEO Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), said Nigeria was his first country visit since assuming office four months ago because of the country’s leadership role on the continent and the NDLEA’s impressive record.

“Nigeria was a clear answer. Because as a leader, as an economic powerhouse on the continent, but also particularly NDLEA for the leadership and the impressive wins that you and your team have delivered time and again,” Gonzales said.

“I wanted to see firsthand where the magic happens.”
He described the four meth lab busts as a model of best-practice tradecraft — intelligence-led investigation, inter-agency coordination, operational excellence and diligent prosecution.

“There’s virtually no other issue of foreign policy that so tangibly affects the lives of every family across America than narcotics,” he said, noting that INL’s 40-year partnership with Nigeria has focused on training and equipment support.

Gonzales warned that intense US pressure on cartels in the Western Hemisphere was pushing trafficking flows toward Africa, with a dangerous shift toward deadlier synthetic drugs.

Marwa: Mexican Cartels Trying To Turn Nigeria Into Manufacturing Hub

In his response, Marwa said the partnership is a shared investment in collective security, stressing the convergence of drugs, arms and terrorism.

“Crime has no borders. Drug money buys guns, guns sustain armed groups, and armed groups sustain terrorism,” Marwa said.

He disclosed that NDLEA operatives recently dismantled the largest clandestine meth lab ever found in Nigeria — in a forest in Ijebu East, Ogun State — where three Mexican meth experts and their Nigerian collaborators were arrested and substances worth over $360 million recovered.

“Barely four weeks later, we raided another industrial-scale laboratory at Tapa Village in Oyo State and arrested a Mexican expert. We have since dismantled similar facilities in Enugu and Ebonyi states, all linked to Mexican cartels,” Marwa said.

“These were not isolated incidents. They show a deliberate attempt to turn Nigeria into a manufacturing hub. These cartels are not setting up in our forests to supply Nigerian consumers alone.

“They want a West African corridor to ship industrial quantities to Europe, Asia and American cities, especially with President Trump’s crackdown smashing cartel traffic enroute America.”

“Every meth lab we shut down is a supply line that never reaches an American street,” he added.

Marwa said INL assistance has strengthened NDLEA’s forensic, investigative and tactical capacity, enabling the arrest of 96,157 drug offenders including 250 barons, seizure of over 15.8 million kilograms of illicit drugs and conviction of 16,691 traffickers in the last five years.

He appealed for sustained US support.

“Any withdrawal of INL support would leave a gap that criminal networks and terrorist groups would exploit. This support, as is, should be maintained if not increased,” Marwa told his guest.

“Traffickers cooperate across borders every day; governments confronting them must do the same,” he stated.