NDLEA, Australian Federal Police seal landmark anti-drug pact in Abuja

Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that turns their existing cooperation into a formal strategic alliance against transnational drug trafficking networks operating along the Nigeria- Australia route.

The signing took place at the NDLEA national headquarters in Abuja. NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), described the agreement as “a declaration of war against transnational drug cartels that think they can hide between continents.”

He said the agencies’ combined strengths, the AFP’s global reach and NDLEA’s operational doggedness, would make the route “extremely hostile and unprofitable for traffickers,” and added that both sides look forward to immediate implementation. He also noted that the MoU is renewable.

Under the agreement, both agencies will work together on:

• Exchange of information and intelligence
• Joint and coordinated operations
• Capacity building and professional development
• Controlled delivery

Marwa said the pact comes at a time when drug trafficking has become highly transnational, organised and sophisticated, with Nigerian organised crime groups increasingly linked to the Australia–Pacific route, particularly for methamphetamine and cocaine. “Nigeria is being exploited as a transit and sourcing hub, but no single country can fight this alone,” he said.

He expressed hope that the MoU would produce major joint seizures, arrests of high-value targets and successful controlled deliveries. Marwa pointed to recent results that underline the need for the partnership. These include the seizure of 184.5 kilograms of cocaine meant for export, and the takedown of four methamphetamine laboratories in recent months, with Mexican nationals embedded in them. One of the labs yielded seizures valued at over 360 million US dollars.

He also cited the dismantling of a Switzerland-based cartel run by a Nigerian, Simon Amadi, following more than a year of joint work with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and police in France, Greece and Switzerland. The suspect’s assets in Nigeria have also been targeted.

Leading the AFP delegation, Ms Sandra Booth said fighting drugs is a whole-of-society problem that demands a whole-of-society solution. She commended the NDLEA for tackling the entire spectrum of the problem, from prevention to enforcement, and praised its relationships with other countries, many of which are also AFP partners. She said the partnership would be “a force multiplier” against “this abhorrent trade.”

Booth warned that organised crime groups increasingly use drug proceeds to fund other serious crimes through a “crime as a service” model, drawing in young and vulnerable people to deliver and transport drugs and even carry out violent attacks on rivals. She said the trade is fuelling violence, gangland wars and deaths in Australia.

“Whilst Nigeria is a transit country, we are a destination country,” she said, adding that Australia wants to help prevent trafficking to its shores and protect its young people. “We hunt as a pack. And I am very proud that we can now be part of your pack,” she added.

The ceremony was witnessed by Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms. Leilani Bin-Juda; Deputy High Commissioner, Mr. Timothy Milikan; AFP delegation members Andrea Humphrys and Susan Gray; and senior officials of the NDLEA management.