The United States has warned that Mexican drug cartels are increasingly targeting Africa as an alternative route for trafficking synthetic drugs, following the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s (NDLEA) dismantling of four methamphetamine laboratories in Nigeria this year.
The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs for Africa and the Middle East, Michael Gonzales, gave the warning on Tuesday during a visit to the NDLEA headquarters in Abuja.
Gonzales commended the agency for its counter-narcotics operations, describing its recent successes as evidence of effective intelligence gathering, inter-agency cooperation and coordinated enforcement efforts.
He explained that Nigeria’s strategic position and the NDLEA’s record of achievement informed his decision to make the country his first destination since assuming office four months ago.
According to the US official, increased American pressure on drug cartels operating in the Western Hemisphere is pushing traffickers to explore alternative routes through Africa to reach markets in Europe and other regions.
He likened the situation to “squeezing a balloon,” explaining that pressure on criminal networks in one region could force them to redirect their activities elsewhere.
Gonzales also warned that the growing shift from plant-based drugs to synthetic substances such as methamphetamine presents additional challenges for law enforcement agencies because of their potential dangers and the difficulties involved in detecting them.
He stressed the need for countries to strengthen international cooperation and target criminal organisations as interconnected networks, including their financial operations.
In his response, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), said the agency’s recent operations had uncovered what he described as a deliberate attempt by Mexican drug cartels to establish Nigeria as a manufacturing base for methamphetamine.
