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US Links Terror Funding In Nigeria, Africa, to Drug Cartels As NDLEA Busts N480bn Meth Network
The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) has drawn a direct link between the escalation of terrorism across Nigeria and other African countries and the rapid expansion of transnational drug trafficking networks operating through the continent.
In a testimony before the United States House Armed Services Committee, AFRICOM Commander, Gen. Dagvin Anderson, said terrorist groups across West Africa and the Sahel are increasingly sustaining their operations through involvement in narcotics trafficking and other forms of organised crime.
He said the convergence of terrorism and drug trafficking has become a major driver of instability in the region, with extremist organisations exploiting weak governance systems, porous borders and ungoverned spaces to expand their financing networks.
Anderson noted that recently a shipment of 35 tonnes of cocaine with a street value of $1 billion was seized in the Africa sub-region, describing it as the highest interdiction in history and stressing the funds from the sale of the illegal substances was fuelling terrorist activities.
The revelation by the US authorities also coincided with the announcement by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) of the dismantling of a transnational methamphetamine production syndicate jointly operated by a Nigerian drug cartel and Mexican collaborators, leading to the arrest of 10 suspects.
During the operation, illicit drugs and chemicals valued at over N480 billion were recovered, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd.) told journalists in Abuja.
According to Anderson, the top US military officer, cocaine trafficking across the Atlantic has increased nearly sixfold since 2024, with West Africa emerging as a key transit corridor linking Latin American producers to European markets.
Anderson warned that terrorist groups and criminal networks are now operating in closer coordination, with proceeds from drug trafficking being used to fund recruitment, procure weapons and sustain insurgent activities across multiple theatres in Africa.
He said groups such as ISIS-West Africa Province, ISIS-Sahel and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) continue to exploit the same illicit economies and trafficking routes used by transnational criminal organisations.
The AFRICOM commander told lawmakers that this evolving nexus between terrorism and narcotics is complicating counter-terrorism efforts across the continent, particularly in regions already affected by political instability, military coups and reduced international security presence.
“The convergence of terrorism and narco-trafficking further exacerbates these threats. African-based terror groups are financed to an increasing degree by drug cartels, expanding those terror group’s reach and lethality. This convergence not only destabilises the region but also poses a direct threat to US national security interests.
“Since 2024, we have seen an increased flow of drugs emanating from the Americas through Africa into Europe, with a nearly sixfold increase of cocaine flowing across the Atlantic Ocean. Additionally, Mexican, Venezuelan, and Caribbean cartels seek to franchise industrial-scale drug production on the continent by exporting lab expertise to Africa and using Africa as a transshipment point to generate revenue.
“Both the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel have established methamphetamine production labs in Africa to exploit an expanding market in permissive regions. Mexican cartel members were arrested during raids in several African countries at some of the largest labs ever discovered. This convergence turns a fragile security landscape into a pressure cooker, demanding interagency focus and coordination to prevent a rupture,” Anderson emphasised.
He stressed that the spread of illicit economies, including drug trafficking, is reinforcing the operational capacity of extremist groups and contributing to the widening insecurity across Nigeria and neighbouring states in the Lake Chad Basin and Sahel regions.
Anderson called for stronger international cooperation, improved intelligence sharing and more coordinated action with African partners to disrupt the financial and logistical networks sustaining both terrorism and organised crime.
Beyond terrorism, Anderson warned of expanding geopolitical competition on the continent, accusing China, Russia and Iran of exploiting instability to undermine U.S. interests.
He said China was aggressively investing in Africa’s mining, transport and infrastructure sectors to secure strategic minerals and maritime assets, warning that Beijing’s influence over battery-grade graphite processing posed a long-term vulnerability to the US defence industrial base.
Anderson further alleged that Russia was using paramilitary operations and gold extraction activities in the Sahel and Central African Republic to evade sanctions and fund its economy, while also expanding disinformation campaigns and recruiting vulnerable African youths to fight in Ukraine.
Anderson stressed that Africa’s rapidly growing youth population and rising unemployment levels were worsening the security situation, warning that millions of unemployed youths remain vulnerable to recruitment by extremist organisations.
He called for stronger inter-agency coordination, sustained intelligence support and deeper cooperation with African partners to contain the growing threats on the continent.
The testimony comes amid increasing military cooperation between Nigeria and the US in counter-terrorism operations targeting ISIS-linked groups operating in the country’s north-east and north-west regions.
Only recently, joint US-Nigerian military operations announced the killing of several senior ISIS commanders and over 170 fighters during coordinated strikes in northeastern Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s anti-narcotics war yesterday recorded one of its biggest breakthroughs as the NDLEA announced the dismantling of a massive Nigerian-Mexican methamphetamine syndicate operating from a hidden forest laboratory in Ogun State.
The sweeping crackdown led to the arrest of an alleged drug baron, three Mexican chemists, and six Nigerian accomplices, alongside the seizure of methamphetamine and precursor chemicals valued at over N480 billion.
The operation, described by the agency as the largest clandestine methamphetamine bust in Nigeria’s history, exposed the growing infiltration of foreign drug cartels into the country and raised fresh concerns over attempts to transform rural communities into production hubs for synthetic narcotics.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Marwa, disclosed details of the operation during a press briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja. According to him, the cartel operated an industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory concealed inside Abidagba forest in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, while maintaining luxury safe houses and operational bases in Lagos.
Marwa said months of intelligence gathering culminated in coordinated tactical operations carried out by the agency’s elite Special Operations Unit across Ogun and Lagos states within 48 hours.
He explained that operatives stormed the forest laboratory on May 16, catching members of the syndicate in the middle of processing dangerous illicit substances.
Among those arrested were three Mexican nationals identified as Martinez Felix Nemecto, Jesus López Valles and Torrero Juan Carlos, allegedly brought into Nigeria to provide technical expertise for meth production.
The agency also arrested four Nigerian suspects identified as Nwankwo Christian, Igwe Abuchi Remijus, Ifeanyichukwu Joshua and Egwuonwu Victor at the forest facility.
Simultaneously, another NDLEA tactical team raided a luxury residence in Golf Estate, Lakowe, Lekki, Lagos, where alleged cartel leader Anochili Innocent was arrested.
Marwa said investigators recovered the passports and mobile phones of the Mexican suspects from the residence, directly linking the alleged kingpin to the importation and coordination of the foreign methamphetamine specialists.
Further follow-up operations led to the arrest of another alleged syndicate member, Kingsley Orike Omonughwa, at a property in Mayfair Estate, Lakowe, while another suspect, Emeka Nwobum, was traced to a stash house allegedly used by the cartel for storage and logistics.
The NDLEA boss revealed the operation yielded a staggering 2,419.48 kilogrammes of methamphetamine and chemical materials, including highly toxic precursor substances and industrial solvents.
He estimated the international market value of the seizure at $362.9 million, equivalent to more than N480 billion. “This quantity translates into millions of street doses capable of destroying lives, fueling violent crimes, and destabilising communities both locally and internationally,” Marwa said.
Vehicles recovered during the raid included a Toyota Tacoma allegedly used for operations at the forest laboratory and a Toyota Highlander linked to the cartel leader.
The NDLEA chairman warned that Nigeria would no longer serve as a safe haven for international drug syndicates seeking to establish clandestine narcotics factories.
He said intelligence reports indicated an emerging trend where local drug networks recruit foreign chemists and cartel operatives from Latin America to establish methamphetamine production laboratories in isolated rural areas across the country.
“No matter how remote your hideout is or how fortified your mansion may appear, the NDLEA will find you, dismantle your operations, and confiscate the proceeds of your criminal enterprise,” Marwa declared.
The latest operation comes barely weeks after the agency announced the takedown of another transnational drug trafficking network allegedly headed by Simon Amadi in collaboration with international law enforcement agencies from the United States, France, Switzerland, and Greece.
Marwa praised the bravery and professionalism of NDLEA operatives and forensic experts involved in the operation and urged Nigerians to remain vigilant by reporting suspicious movements, chemical odours, and unusual activities in their communities.
He disclosed that the forest laboratory had operated for some time under the cover of an ordinary agricultural enterprise, underscoring the increasingly sophisticated tactics being adopted by organised drug carte
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