Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Mexicans arrested in Nigeria for running "industrial scale" crystal meth lab

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested four Mexicans for allegedly running a crystal meth production laboratory on an "industrial" scale.

The anti-drug agency said it had uncovered the lab producing the banned stimulant, disrupting what it said was "a major drug trafficking organization".

Four Nigerians believed to be joint owners of the lab were also arrested with the Mexicans, who were said to be production experts hired as "technical partners".

The laboratory, found in Asaba, was "similar to the ones found in Mexico" and the first to be discovered in Nigeria, the NDLEA said.

It produced between 3,000 and 4,000 kilograms of the drug per production cycle. The agency described the output as "an industrial scale".

During the raid in Asaba, agents recovered 1.5 kilograms of finished methamphetamine and 750 litres of liquid methamphetamine.

The NDLEA, set up to fight drug trafficking, said recently that Nigeria has graduated from being a transit point for smuggling to a drug-production and consuming nation.

"We are set now to prosecute the four Mexican suspects arrested over running a super methamphetamine production laboratory," NDLEA spokesman Ofoyeju Mitchell disclosed on Tuesday.

"The delay in taking them to court was caused by the inability to get Spanish interpreters on time.

"The suspects, arrested last week, claimed they did not understand English. We now have interpreters and we are ready."

Mitchell did not disclose a precise date for the prosecution but said it would be "very soon".

AFP

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