Mexican drug cartels are increasingly outsourcing methamphetamine production to West Africa, with Nigeria emerging as a significant hub. Law enforcement agencies report finding Mexican specialists, often referred to as "cooks," working alongside local individuals in laboratories across Africa and Europe.
In May, Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) announced its largest-ever meth bust, discovering more than two tonnes of the drug, estimated to be worth around £270m. This operation involved a federal high court hearing conducted inside an alleged illicit drug laboratory in a dense forest, where three Mexicans and seven Nigerians were paraded.
The following month, another meth laboratory was found in a forest in Oyo State, leading to the arrest of five suspects, including a Mexican "methamphetamine expert." US Africa Command (Africom) intelligence has linked some of these laboratories to Mexico's two largest drug cartels: the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New General Cartel.
James Griego, who leads counter-narcotics operations for US-Africa Command, stated that five Mexican-operated labs have been raided this year, with four of them in Nigeria. Since 2023, a total of 14 such labs have been raided across Africa, including in Kenya, Mozambique, and South Africa.
West Africa offers attractive benefits for Mexican syndicates, including secluded forested land for production sites and a large youth population that can provide cheap labour and a market for local consumption. The region's location also provides access to Atlantic shipping routes, facilitating distribution to markets in Asia and Europe.