Suggested Cue: Latin-American drug cartels have been making attempts to set up production facilities in Nigeria in at least a decade, and five meth labs have been uncovered so far. Two among them were discovered recently. igeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, took the media and court officials to the largest-ever methamphetamine laboratory found in May in southwest Ogun State for a special court hearing and assessment of the exhibits. This was to help fast-track the request by the prosecution to dismantle the facility for public health safety. DW West Africa correspondent Azeezat Olaoluwa reports.

Lower thirds:
0:03  Report by / Azeezat Olaoluwa 
0:24  Azeezat Olaoluwa / DW West Africa Correspondent
1:21 Femi Babafemi / Director Media and advocacy, NDLEA
1:50  Azeezat Olaoluwa / DW West Africa Correspondent
2:15  Benson Ndakara, Defense counsel
3:27 Faisal Sanusi Ibrahim, Organised Crime Expert 

4:05 Femi Babafemi / Director Media and advocacy, NDLEA

Script:
Tucked away deep inside a forested area, this is the largest industrial-scale meth laboratory ever uncovered in the country. 
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, discovered it in Nigeria’s southwest Ogun State.
Nat sound shot of vehicle stuck in the mud
PTC Azeezat Olaoluwa DW West Africa Correspondent
It was a tough journey to get to this meth lab because it’s located deep inside a forest in the middle of nowhere, more than two hours' drive from Lagos. I have seen rows of industrial mixers, bags of caustic soda, and large drums of chemicals. It was recently built, and we understand that the suspects were allegedly producing the first batch of drugs when they were arrested.
Seven Nigerians and three Mexicans were arrested, and they have been charged. (visuals from NDLEA)
The agency said it seized more than 2 point 4 tons of chemicals, many of them volatile and highly poisonous. 
PTC Azeezat Olaoluwa, DW West Africa Correspondent
Behind me you can see some of the machines that were used to process the drugs. We have been told not to get too close to them because toxic chemicals are still stored inside. I can perceive an unpleasant metallic odor in the air.
 
And the NDLEA also netted crystal meth worth more than 300 million euros. (ADD Source Insert NDLEA)
SOT Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and advocacy, NDLEA
The volume of what was recovered here is enough to cause lots of issues: public health issues and security challenges, not only in our country, Nigeria, but even in the subregion.
Nat sound arrival of suspects
In a rare move, the NDLEA took the court officials, the suspects and the mediato the clandestine facility for a special court hearing. 
PTC
I am sure the three Mexicans just right behind me who have now been tagged suspects in the alleged production of large-scale meth in Nigeria did not expect this moment will come in their lives. They have been brought back to the alleged scene of the crime and a court hearing will take place here for the exhibits to be assessed and taken into evidence.
The suspects have pleaded not guilty to all charges against them. 
SOT Benson Ndakara, Defense counsel
The defendants are charged for being in production of methamphetamine, but what they succeeded in showing us today is the process of production, not production itself, not the end product.

A second meth lab was busted barely four weeks after this facility was shut down in May, with one Mexican among the suspects arrested. (Visual by NDLEA) 
But this is just one recent discovery. 
The NDLEA told DW that the first meth lab it uncovered involving Mexicans was in 2016, evidencing early attempts to transfer production expertise to local partners. Since then, the agency has dismantled up to thirty of such labs in the country.

This has raised concerns that transnational drug cartels from Latin America are turning Nigeria from a simple transit route for drugs to a production hub for international markets. 

The latest World Drug Report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows that meth production took root in West Africa in the early 2010s, particularly in Nigeria. It notes that meth from West and Central Africa mainly supplies other markets. 

The NDLEA says international drug cartels are now focused on setting up labs in the country’s southwest, a region close to the seacoast.

SOT Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and advocacy, NDLEA
It's a challenge the agency has risen up to, to ensure that we don't allow them to have a hold not only in the southwest but in the entire country.
Recently, the US Africa Command’s statement that there’s a growing connection between international drug cartels and terrorism in West Africa indicates a multilayered threat for Nigeria.

SOT Faisal Sanusi Ibrahim, Organised Crime Expert 
 
The relationship between cartels and drug use and terrorism is very symbiotic. What they do is that the terrorists give the cartels protection, while the cartels give the terrorists financing.

We have porous borders; we have a large part of our forests ungoverned. We also have a situation where you have cheap labour.  And also, the transatlantic route for their shipping.

The judge and prosecution have agreed that this crystal meth lab will be dismantled, but the concerns it raises are still present. 
Although authorities say they are intensifying the fight against organised criminal drug networks, one question remains unanswered: How many more clandestine facilities like this are operating undetected in Nigeria – and elsewhere in the continent?