Nigeria, Egypt Move To Deepen Anti-Drug Cooperation

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), is set to deepen its collaboration with Egypt in the fight against illicit drug trafficking and substance abuse through a proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will focus on intelligence sharing, joint operations and capacity building.

The commitment was made on Tuesday in Abuja when the Egyptian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mohammed Fouad, paid a courtesy visit to the chairman/chief executive officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (rtd).

Marwa said the planned agreement would strengthen institutional cooperation between the anti-narcotics agencies of both countries, describing the global drug trade as a challenge that requires coordinated international action.

He noted that Nigeria already maintains operational partnerships with several international law enforcement agencies, including the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), UK Border Force, French Police, German Criminal Police and India’s Narcotics Control Bureau.

“We are very excited that we’re going to collaborate with Egypt through an MoU,” Marwa said, adding that increasing pressure on international drug cartels has forced them to seek new routes and bases in Africa.

According to him, intelligence-led cooperation among African countries is essential to prevent criminal networks from gaining a foothold on the continent.

NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi further noted in a statement that the NDLEA boss also highlighted recent successes recorded by the agency against transnational drug syndicates, including the dismantling of methamphetamine laboratories allegedly operated by Mexican nationals in Nigeria.

He said one of the facilities, located deep in a forest, was valued at about 362 million dollars, while another meth lab linked to foreign operators was recently dismantled in a separate operation.

Speaking during the visit, Fouad described Nigeria and Egypt as two of Africa’s leading nations whose collaboration is crucial to addressing the continent’s drug trafficking challenge.

He said his visit was aimed at exploring practical areas of cooperation and understanding the NDLEA’s priorities in order to identify ways Egypt could support Nigeria’s anti-narcotics efforts.

The envoy stressed that illicit drug trafficking poses a growing threat to societies across Africa and called for stronger bilateral and continental partnerships to tackle the menace.