The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said it obliges the public about the recent busts of Methamphetamine Laboratories in order to raise people’s awareness of the danger that meth production constitutes to public health.
NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) disclosed this Tuesday at a press briefing on Busted Methamphetamine Laboratories in VGC, Lekki, Lagos and NISE community, Anambra State, at the agency’s National headquarters, Abuja,
Marawa said the exposure was also to let the public know the modus operandi of the barons involved in the unwholesome activity, hoping that the “knowledge will raise public awareness about the risk of meth production in their vicinity”.
“The owner of the laboratory in VGC, for instance, was producing this highly unstable and toxic drug in a house where he lived with his family. This speaks volumes about his insensitivity to the consequences of exposing his family, which includes a three-month old baby, to the danger of hazardous chemicals. If that is the case, that is an indication that public health was of no concern to him.
“In this particular case, aside from the laboratory being close to the kitchen of the main house, the waste from the laboratory was channeled into the septic tank and soakaway in the compound,with a high risk of contamination of the water table of the entire neighbourhood” NDLEA boss revealed.
He indicated further that the Lagos Laboratory owner was living in a hotel at the Admiralty Way Lekki Phase I while production was ongoing in his house, adding that his vehicle was often parked in the compound to give the false impression that he was at home.
Marwa revealed: “We knew this from our reconnaissance. In fact, he did not sleep at home on Friday, 29th July 2022 and did not come back to the house the next day. But the operatives of the Agency who had been on his track for weeks picked him up at 2 pm from his hotel and brought him to the house to be present when the search was conducted on his compound.
“Similarly, the cook was also not resident in the building housing the lab. He, too, was lodged in a hotel outside the estate where Chris Emeka Nzewi had deposited a huge amount of money for his accommodation for up to one month. The hotel was the haven that he retired to after each day’s activity at the lab”.
The retired Gen exposed that on average, the lab produced 50 kilos of methamphetamine every week with plans underway to increase the capacity of production to at least 100kg per week, adding that from the agency’s preliminary interrogation, it was established that the drugs from this lab were both for export and local consumption.
“We also know there is a supply chain of distributors and buyers for export and the domestic market. When you consider the fact that the price of this dangerous drug was going for as high as US500,000 per kilo in the international market in recent time, you will understand why Nzewi cared less to put the lives of his own family at risk by producing this in the same house where they live. Hence, taking these two labs out of operation is a major feat in our continuing effort to curb the meth problem.
“This operation also exposed the interconnectivity among syndicates involved in meth production. For instance, the cook was hired by both producers. He produced for the VGC lab, as well as the lab in Anambra.
“As we step up the offensive against drug traffickers, we want the public to be more vigilant and be aware of the fact that producers of methamphetamine always choose unsuspecting environments with tight security, like the VGC estate, in this case. And the reason is not far-fetched: They choose secured estates to prevent law enforcement agents from monitoring their activities. They also locate meth labs in remote unsuspecting communities where residents would not be aware of their activities.
“It is very important to note that the waste from methamphetamine production is dangerous to the ecosystem. The chemicals are toxic and once they seep into the soil, they contaminate the water table from which surrounding wells and boreholes draw their water. And citizens who unwittingly consume the water from such sources are exposed to heart and kidney ailments and other organ diseases. Neighbours, too, who inhale gases from the lab are also susceptible to the same risk.
“What makes it worse is that the production usually takes place in the middle of the night, between 11 pm and 4 am, and therefore, unsuspecting neighbours could have been exposed to the hazards for months or even years” the agency’s revealed.
Gen. Marwa renewed the call to members of the public to work in partnership with the agency to safeguard their health, affirming that with collaboration, the agency was confident of cleaning the ravaging “Augean stable of illicit drugs”.
He commended the professionalism of the agency’s operatives in intelligence gathering, which he said led to special units assigned the task, of forensic experts and the 200-man strike force team that was deployed, “who were the operational arm that executed the mission of dismantling the labs, seizing the crystal meth, precursors, paraphernalia and arresting the culprits”.
The anti-drug agency head said he was glad that since the body launched offensive action against the cartel behind the Methamphetamine scourge, it has arrested four kingpins and a cook; now, we have added two barons and another cook.
He affirmed that the feat was a loud statement to those involved in the criminal illicit drug trade that “it’s time for them to quit or risk losing it all; that is losing their freedom, investment and assets acquired through proceeds from the illegal business”.
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