Nigerian law enforcement conducted an unusual court hearing inside an alleged clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in a forest setting to examine evidence from what the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency described as the country’s largest-ever meth bust. The operation in May resulted in the arrest of three Mexicans and seven Nigerians, with authorities confiscating more than two tonnes of methamphetamine valued at approximately $360 million. A subsequent raid in neighboring Oyo State uncovered another laboratory and resulted in additional arrests, including a Mexican specialist in methamphetamine production.
These discoveries reflect a broader trend of Mexican criminal organizations establishing production operations across Africa rather than merely using the continent as a trafficking route. According to US Africa Command, Mexican-operated methamphetamine laboratories have been identified in multiple African nations since 2016, with a notable acceleration in recent years. Fourteen such labs have been raided since 2023, with the majority occurring this year in Nigeria. Intelligence sources have linked some operations to Mexico’s two largest cartels: the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
West Africa presents several advantages for these operations, including extensive forested areas suitable for concealed production sites, a substantial youth population providing both labor and local consumption markets, and porous borders that facilitate chemical imports and drug distribution. Unlike plant-based narcotics such as cocaine, methamphetamine can be manufactured anywhere given appropriate chemicals and technical expertise, enabling rapid scaling of production. Africa’s geographic position provides traffickers efficient access to both Asian and European markets via Atlantic shipping routes.
Methamphetamine consumption has expanded across the continent, with documented increases in availability in East and Southern Africa. Global seizures reached record levels in 2024, while European methamphetamine use increased 47 percent between 2014 and 2024. Authorities express concern about the drug’s potential to proliferate in Nigeria, where illicit drug use rates already exceed global averages, and speculate that heightened scrutiny of traditional Latin American trafficking routes may be motivating cartels to diversify operations into Africa.
Nigerian authorities have implemented enhanced enforcement measures, including increased surveillance and international intelligence coordination with US agencies, asserting their commitment to preventing the nation from becoming a haven for illicit drug production operations.
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