The United States has warned that Mexican drug cartels are seeking to turn Nigeria into a base for manufacturing methamphetamine, after the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) dismantled four meth laboratories in the country this year. Michael Gonzales, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs for Africa and the Middle East, gave the warning on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, during a visit to the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja.
US Warning Amidst Squeeze on Cartels
Gonzales said intensified US pressure on cartels in the Western Hemisphere was like "squeezing a balloon," pushing traffickers to look for alternative routes through Africa to reach markets in Europe and Asia. He said Nigeria was his first destination since assuming office four months ago, citing its strategic importance and the NDLEA's record.
The NDLEA says it dismantled four methamphetamine laboratories in Ogun, Oyo, Ebonyi and Enugu states this year. The agency says the largest facility, uncovered in Ogun, yielded substances valued at more than $360 million.
Details of the Laboratory Raids
NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), said the raids pointed to a deliberate attempt to establish Nigeria as a methamphetamine manufacturing hub, and that the laboratories were linked to Mexican criminal networks. Marwa said the first lab, in a forest in Ijebu East, Ogun State, was the largest clandestine meth laboratory the agency has found in Nigeria. Operatives arrested three Mexican nationals, described by the agency as methamphetamine production specialists, and Nigerian collaborators there on May 16, 2026. He said substances worth more than $360 million were recovered. The agency has charged 10 people, including the three Mexicans, over the alleged production of 2,419.48 kilogrammes of methamphetamine.
A month later, on June 17, the agency arrested a 56-year-old Mexican, Jose Villa Ochoa, and four Nigerians at another laboratory in Tapa village, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State. Similar facilities were later dismantled in Ebonyi and Enugu states, Marwa said.
Arrests and Broader Enforcement Impact
In September, the agency announced the arrest of another Mexican, Arturo Carrera Loaiza, whom it described as an alleged kingpin. He was reportedly held on August 19 at the Lagos airport while trying to leave Nigeria. He denied any knowledge of methamphetamine production. In Enugu, the agency arrested two Nigerians over a lab in Eziama community, Obeagu, Awgu Local Government Area, which it said resembled the facilities in Ogun, Oyo and Ebonyi.
Marwa said that over the past five years the NDLEA arrested 96,157 drug offenders, including 250 individuals described as drug barons, and secured 16,691 convictions. He credited US support for strengthening the agency's forensic, investigative and training capacity.
