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President Bola Tinubu has commended the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) over the dismantling of a major Nigerian-Mexican drug syndicate and the discovery of what authorities described as one of the largest illicit narcotics production networks ever uncovered in the country.
In a statement he personally signed, Tinubu praised the agency’s operatives for their “professionalism, bravery, and resilience” following a large scale operation that led to the seizure of narcotics and precursor chemicals valued at more than $360 million.
The President said the successful operation sent a strong warning to criminal syndicates operating within and outside Nigeria that the country would not surrender its future to organised crime and narco traffickers.
“I commend the NDLEA and its operatives for the successful dismantling of a major drug syndicate and a multi-million dollar narcotics production network operating within our country,” Tinubu stated.
“The seizure of illicit drugs and chemicals valued at over $360 million, alongside the arrest of key foreign and local collaborators, sends a clear message that Nigeria will not yield its future to criminal networks and narco traffickers.”
The operation, coordinated by NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), reportedly followed weeks of intelligence gathering and collaboration with international security partners.
According to the NDLEA, operatives uncovered an industrial scale clandestine methamphetamine laboratory hidden inside a forest in Ogun State, leading to the arrest of seven suspects, including three Mexican nationals allegedly brought into Nigeria as methamphetamine production experts.
Authorities said more than 2.4 tonnes of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals were recovered during the raids, with the estimated street value put at about N480 billion, approximately $363 million.
Tinubu warned that West Africa was increasingly becoming a strategic transit and production hub in the global narcotics trade, describing the development as a direct threat to regional security and the future of young people.
“West Africa is increasingly becoming a major corridor in the global narcotics trade, and this poses a direct threat not just to our security, but to the future of our young people,” he said.
“We must confront this danger with courage, coordination, and consistency.”
The President also urged Nigerians to support law enforcement agencies by reporting suspicious activities within their communities, insisting that the fight against illicit drugs required collective national vigilance.
The latest bust came as Marwa intensified calls for stronger social resistance against drug abuse and what he described as a growing toxic popular culture that normalises narcotics consumption among youths.
Speaking during the commissioning of the NDLEA’s new radio station, Clean Beat 91.5FM, in Abuja, Marwa urged Nigerians to reject entertainment and social trends that glamourise illicit substances.
“We recognise that behind every statistic of drug abuse is a human being, a vulnerable teenager seeking escape, a broken family searching for answers, and a brilliant mind derailed but capable of redirection,” Marwa said.
He called on parents, schools, religious institutions, entertainers, and community leaders to support the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse campaign aimed at preventing addiction among young Nigerians.
The NDLEA has recorded a series of major seizures in recent months, including the interception of billions of naira worth of opioids and codeine syrups in Lagos, as authorities intensify efforts to curb Nigeria’s growing role in international drug trafficking networks.
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