In March, another drug supply route linking East Africa, Europe, and Nigeria was discovered by NDLEA agents in Lagos.

The drug cartel ran into trouble when agents at the Lagos airport on March 13th intercepted Ejezie Vitus Ifeanyi during the arrival hall screening of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Malawi via Addis Ababa.

One of his two bags had a false bottom concealment, which was found out when he was searched.

During a preliminary interview, the suspect acknowledged that he was being picked up by a syndicate member who was waiting in the airport parking lot.

A quick follow-up operation resulted in the capture of Chukwu Franco Bright, who was waiting to receive the drug shipment in a grey Mercedes Benz C180 coupe with the licence plate EKY 973 GQ.

Following his arrest, the bag was properly searched in front of the two suspects, resulting in the recovery of 3 kilograms of heroin.

Findings showed that drug trafficking networks exist between Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique in East Africa, and Europe.

While Chukwu, who resides in Lagos, is in charge of organizing the activities of mules on behalf of other cartel members based in Mozambique and Malawi, another group runs operations out of the South-Eastern region of Nigeria.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Cocaine, UNODC, revealed in March, just two days after the above incident, that the Nigerian market tops the list of cocaine  smuggling regions in Africa.

The UN agency also said in the Global Report on Cocaine that the [steep growth] in supply has also been matched by a similar increase in demand. 

According to said report, Nigerian drug-traffickers work in collaboration with their accomplices in other countries, especially members of “cult groups” in European countries and those in Brazil.

“Based on aggregate reporting to UNODC, by Nigeria and other countries, on the main cocaine trafficking routes during 2018-2021, trafficking of cocaine was reported from Nigeria to 20 countries or territories, including countries within the subregion (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Ghana, Senegal, Liberia), transit countries in Africa (Algeria, Ethiopia, Morocco), and countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region (Australia, China, Hong Kong, China, India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka), in the Near and Middle East/ South-West Asia (Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates) and in Europe (Turkiye, United Kingdom).

“The most prominent departure country for cocaine reaching Nigeria is Brazil. Thus, despite the established and
well-connected presence of Nigerian traffickers within an international network of actors and counterparts trafficking cocaine (and other drugs), notably with regard to trafficking by air, in view of the available seizure data, it is plausible that the volume of cocaine transiting Nigerian territory is a relatively modest share of the quantities reaching West and Central Africa.

It should, however, be borne in mind that Nigerian traffickers are also active in neighbouring countries as well as North Africa.”

In the African market for drug trafficking, Morocco comes in second to Nigeria.

The rising number of Nigerians willing to smuggle drugs is attributed to tough times because some people believe that doing so will help them combat the country’s faltering economy.

The high level of poverty and unemployment, as well as the lack of a conducive business environment, have led many to consider dark alternatives such as drug trafficking and cybercrime to make ends meet in the quickest of ways.

A recent report by the NDLEA indicated that more Nigerians have taken to drug businesses, including drug peddling, abuse, and trafficking.

According to the agency, 18,940 suspected drug traffickers were arrested within the space of 20 months alone, from January 2021 to July 2022. This figure comprised 17,444 males and 1,496 females, including a few barons, and is expected to have increased significantly since that time.   

The National Bureau of Statistics placed Nigeria’s unemployment rate at 33%, with a long-term projection that puts the expected trend at 43% by 2024 and 44% by 2025. 

A report in Statista reveals that nearly 12% of the world’s population in extreme poverty lives in Nigeria, with the overall population of Africans living in extreme poverty estimated to reach 422 million in 2025.

It shows that to tackle the rate of crime-indulgence in the country, Nigeria has to simultaneously alleviate the level of economic hardship among Nigerians and the problems of large-scale unemployment among its citizens.