US-INL Praises NDLEA, Pledges More Support After Fentanyl Chemical Discovery

The United States International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau, INL, has commended the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, for its recent successes in the fight against illicit drugs.

INL Country Director in Nigeria, Derek Tolliver, gave the commendation in Abuja while leading a US delegation to a meeting with NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa, retired.

Tolliver congratulated the agency on its growth and recent operational achievements, assuring that the US would build on its existing partnership with the NDLEA.

Responding, Marwa said the agency’s successes were partly made possible by support from the INL and other US agencies, including the DEA, AFRICOM and FBI.

He disclosed that US-supported forensic equipment helped the NDLEA identify a precursor chemical linked to fentanyl production during the dismantling of a methamphetamine laboratory in a forest in Ogun State.

Marwa said the chemical was discovered among other substances at the illegal laboratory and could have gone unnoticed without modern forensic technology.

He also credited INL support for the modernisation of NDLEA forensic laboratories in Lagos, Abuja and Enugu.

The NDLEA chairman appealed for additional US assistance in logistics, training and other operational needs.

Tolliver assured the agency that the United States would continue to strengthen the partnership and support Nigeria’s efforts to combat drug trafficking and illicit drug production.