By Omoyeni Ojeifo
As part of its intensified anti-drug campaign, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has partnered with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to take on transnational drug cartels operating along the Nigeria–Australia trafficking route.
The partnership was formalised on Monday, November 2, 2026, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the NDLEA national headquarters in Abuja, turning existing cooperation between both agencies into a structured strategic alliance.
Retired Brig.-Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa, NDLEA Chairman/CEO, described the agreement as a declaration of war against criminal networks operating across continents, expressing confidence that the partnership would disrupt their activities.
“Now, this MoU is renewable and is a declaration of war against transnational drug cartels that think they can hide between continents. With the AFP’s global reach and NDLEA’s operational doggedness, I am confident that we will make the Australia-Nigeria drug route extremely hostile and unprofitable for traffickers,” Marwa stated.
Both agencies will exchange intelligence, conduct joint and coordinated operations, strengthen professional capacity and collaborate on controlled deliveries, under the agreement.
Marwa warned that drug trafficking had become increasingly transnational, organised and sophisticated, with Nigerian organised crime groups linked to the Australia–Pacific route, particularly in methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking.
He added: “Nigeria is being exploited as a transit and sourcing hub, but no single country can fight this alone.”
The NDLEA chairman expressed expectations that the agreement would produce major joint seizures, arrests of high-value targets and successful controlled deliveries, with both agencies looking towards immediate implementation.
Citing recent operations that demonstrate the scale of the threat, Marwa listed the seizure of 184.5 kilogrammes of cocaine meant for export and the dismantling of four methamphetamine laboratories in recent months.
He disclosed that Mexican nationals were embedded in the laboratories and that one of the operations yielded seizures valued at more than 360 million dollars.
Marwa also cited the dismantling of a Switzerland-based cartel linked to Nigerian Simon Amadi, following more than a year of joint work involving the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and police authorities in France, Greece and Switzerland.
The cartel’s assets in Nigeria have also been targeted.
In response, Head of the AFP delegation, Sandra Booth, described the partnership as a force multiplier, commending the NDLEA for addressing the drug problem through prevention and enforcement.
Booth warned that organised crime groups were increasingly using drug trafficking to finance other serious offences through a “crime as a service” model, recruiting young and vulnerable people to deliver drugs, transport consignments and carry out violent attacks on rivals.
“The trade is not only causing addiction and destroying families but also fuelling violence, gangland wars and deaths in Australia,”she noted.
“Whilst Nigeria is a transit country, we are a destination country. And unfortunately for us, people will pay a lot of money for the commodity,” she added.
Booth explained that Australia was committed to preventing drug consignments from reaching its territory and protecting young people and other vulnerable groups.
“It is so absolutely necessary that we work together as a team, that we are forceful, that we are committed, that we show integrity, and we hunt as a pack. And I am very proud that we can now be part of your pack,”she declared.
The ceremony was witnessed by the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Leilani Bin-Juda; Deputy High Commissioner, Timothy Milikan; and other members of the AFP delegation, Andrea Humphrys and Susan Gray, alongside senior NDLEA officials.
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