Nigerian anti-narcotics officers, together with a federal judge, held a court hearing inside a suspected illegal drug laboratory hidden in a forest in Ogun State, where three Mexicans and seven Nigerians appeared in handcuffs over an alleged methamphetamine production operation. The unusual move to convene court at the site reflects a growing trend of Mexican drug cartels shifting synthetic drug production into West Africa, using the region not merely as a trafficking route but as a manufacturing base, with Mexican "cooks" increasingly working alongside local operatives.

The Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) described the May raid as the country's largest-ever meth bust, seizing more than two tonnes of the drug worth an estimated $360m (£270m). A second laboratory was uncovered the following month in neighbouring Oyo State, with five further suspects arrested. According to James Griego of US-Africa Command, which shares intelligence with African anti-drug agencies, 14 Mexican-operated labs have been raided across Africa since 2023, with four of the five discovered this year located in Nigeria, underscoring the country's growing role in the trade.