West Africa has emerged major frontier for the production and movement of methamphetamine, commonly known as crystal meth, amid growing concerns over its impact on security and public health.
This is contained in a statement made available to newsmen on Wednesday night.
It was signed by Getulio Moreira, a researcher for Panel54, a Pan-Africa podcast based in Nairobi.
Moreira said the densely forested interior and vast coastlines of the region had increasingly become areas of concern.
That, he said, was because production and use of the highly destructive drug had risen in recent years.
He said governments, lawmakers and security organisations were consequently exploring new measures to disrupt the supply chains and trafficking networks linked to the drug.
The researcher said recent large-scale drug seizures in Nigeria had also highlighted the reported involvement of Mexican methamphetamine producers in the region.
He quoted Femi Babafemi, spokesperson for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), as saying that Mexican drug cartels have been sending methamphetamine producers to West Africa.
Babafemi said the scale and sophistication of cartel operations in West Africa, particularly Nigeria, had become increasingly evident through arrests and the discovery of clandestine laboratories.
He said it was previously unusual to discover methamphetamine laboratories in highbrow residential areas, citing the discovery of a laboratory in Victoria Garden City, Lekki, Lagos.
The spokesperson said Nigeria discovered its first confirmed clandestine methamphetamine laboratory in 2011, while 18 other laboratories were dismantled in 2019.
He, however, said production had continued, with authorities again encountering industrial-scale facilities in 2026.
Babafemi agreed that international cooperation had contributed to recent NDLEA successes.
He said NDLEA had expanded its global intelligence network and strengthened cooperation with international partners to track and monitor suspected drug traffickers.
“For those that felt they could run away from Nigeria, we have also shown to them that we have the capability to work with our international partners.
“Also, we ensure that even right where they think they are hiding in other jurisdictions, we can track them down,” he said.
Moreira also quoted Ghanaian analyst and security expert, Fidel Owusu, as highlighting the scale of the problem, saying seizures represented only part of the drugs moving through the system.
“Whenever you see an intercept of a kilo of a certain drug, about four kilos have gone through the system,” he said.
Owusu said the development posed significant challenges to West African states, particularly those with weak institutions and limited capacity to prevent trafficking and prosecute offenders.
He said weak institutions could also leave civil servants vulnerable to financial inducements from criminal organisations seeking approvals, documentation or other logistical support.
Another concern, according to Owusu, is the region’s growing youth population, which can provide a large potential market for addictive drugs.
He warned that widespread use of crystal meth could trigger public health and security challenges, particularly in urban communities, with consequences extending across national borders.
Owusu also raised concerns about possible links between drug trafficking networks and existing terrorist and insurgent groups operating in the region.
He said criminal cartels could exploit established smuggling routes operated by terrorist organisations, while the latter could benefit financially from drug trafficking.
He cited the smuggling of cigarettes around the Sahel by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The analyst also cited extortion and racketeering of smuggled goods by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate.
According to him, closer collaboration between criminal and terrorist organisations can further deepen West Africa’s existing security challenges.
Owusu identified increased intelligence sharing among African countries, particularly neighbouring states, as one of the key measures required to combat the spread of crystal meth.
He said stronger cooperation among intelligence and security agencies would improve the interception of drugs and the identification of major traffickers.
Owusu also stressed the importance of international naval cooperation to disrupt maritime routes used to transport drugs from Latin America to West Africa.
He said collaboration with international partners with naval capabilities could help secure the region’s Atlantic coastline and disrupt maritime channels used by drug traffickers.
He noted that U.S., British, French and Scandinavian naval forces regularly patrol parts of Africa’s Atlantic coast, including in support of maritime security and shipping operations.
Owusu argued that stronger international cooperation to address drug trafficking in West Africa would also serve the security interests of countries outside the region.
“Coordinated action by West African countries and international partners will be required to address the growing threat posed by crystal meth, ” he said.
Moreira warned that delayed, inadequate or poorly coordinated action could worsen the drug problem and deepen security challenges across the region.
He called for stronger cooperation among African countries and with international partners to counter the financial and logistical capacity of drug cartels.