Authorities have dismantled what they say is the largest methamphetamine laboratory ever found in Nigeria.
The lab was taken down following a court order, as 10 suspects including three Mexicans face trial over an alleged international drug operation in Ogun State.
The makeshift laboratory, concealed inside a forest spanning the Abidagba and Iroto communities in Ogun State, was dismantled on Wednesday by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency after a Lagos court ordered its removal over environmental concerns.
An AFP correspondent who visited the site alongside NDLEA officials observed local artisans dismantling large cooking cauldrons, filtration equipment and chemical processing facilities allegedly used in the production of methamphetamine.
The laboratory was raided in May when NDLEA operatives arrested 10 suspects, including seven Nigerians and three Mexican nationals. The operation also extended to two residential properties in an upscale Lagos neighbourhood, where authorities said they recovered methamphetamine and precursor chemicals valued at about $360m.
The suspects are currently standing trial before the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The NDLEA’s Deputy Commander of Narcotics, James Taalba, said the agency was prepared to confront any attempt by foreign drug cartels to establish operations in Nigeria.
“About our readiness to combat the cartel… yes, we are ready,” Taalba told AFP.
“We have people who are capable of curtailing such a situation.”
The dismantling followed a directive by the trial court after forensic experts warned that chemicals left at the site posed environmental and public health risks.
NDLEA Director of Forensics, Patricia Afolabi, said the court ordered the laboratory dismantled because of concerns over groundwater and air pollution caused by chemicals used in methamphetamine production.
According to AFP, barrels containing chemicals and partially processed methamphetamine had remained inside the facility as exhibits and were still emitting choking vapours when journalists visited the site.
Nigeria and other West African countries have increasingly become transit points for cocaine shipments from South America to Europe. However, security experts have also raised concerns over the growing local manufacture of methamphetamine, with previous reports indicating that Latin American drug specialists have transferred production expertise to criminal networks in Nigeria.
The Institute for Security Studies reported in 2019 that methamphetamine seizures and laboratory raids in Nigeria had been increasing since about 2011.
In June, another Mexican national was arrested during a separate methamphetamine operation in Oyo State.
A resident of nearby Abidagba village, Florence Banjo, said locals were unaware of the true nature of the activities at the forest site.
“We heard rumours that they were going to build (a housing) estate there, and I was happy that they’d finally pave the road that leads into our village,” the 59-year-old told AFP.
“We were disappointed.”
AFP
