The presence of Mexican methamphetamine cooks in African laboratories was once considered an anomaly, but a series of recent arrests suggests the global synthetic drug trade is evolving.
On July 10, Nigeria’s Anti-Drug Agency (NDLEA) formally prosecuted African and Mexican actors operating a meth lab uncovered during a raid in Ogun state on May 16. Nigerian authorities dismantled the industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory, seizing 2.4 tons of crystallized methamphetamine and precursor chemicals. It was reportedly the country’s largest methamphetamine seizure to date. The network, which included three Mexican nationals and six Nigerian actors, now faces an 11-count charge for the preparation, processing, and production of methamphetamine.
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A week earlier, on May 13, police in South Africa had uncovered an industrial-scale methamphetamine laboratory, where four of the 11 suspects arrested were Mexican.
The NDLEA also dismantled a methamphetamine laboratory hidden in a forested area of Oyo State on June 17 and arrested five suspects, including a Mexican national named José Villa Ochoa. NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa called the site “a sophisticated, factory-scale methamphetamine production center run by a highly organized transnational criminal syndicate.”
These cases are part of a broader pattern. Mexican cooks were found at 11 of 12 clandestine drug laboratories seized in Africa over the last two years, General Dagvin Anderson, commander of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) stated before the US Senate on Armed Services Committee (SASC).
There have been reports of Mexican cooks in Nigerian laboratories since 2016. Laboratories uncovered in Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya since then have exhibited increasingly sophisticated production and export capabilities.
A Knowledge Transfer Agreement
The trend seems to be driven by the export of technical expertise, rather than the territorial expansion ambitions of Mexican criminal organizations. So far, no laboratory seizure has indicated that Mexican actors occupied managerial positions or outnumbered local participants. Instead, they appear to play a specialized role, advising on production techniques while local groups retain operational control.
This is largely driven by the technical expertise developed by Mexican methamphetamine producers over the last few decades. Mexico’s methamphetamine industry has become increasingly sophisticated over the last 20 years, with producers consistently achieving some of the highest purity levels globally while adapting their methods to synthesize precursor chemicals from less-regulated substances.
This has made them highly sought-after partners for criminal networks worldwide, according to Jason Eligh, a senior expert at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC).
“It is likely that there has been an initial contact [between Mexican and Africa-based criminal actors] where production has significantly changed because the Mexican model of production is superior to the model that has existed in the past in Africa,” Eligh told InSight Crime.
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This pattern has also been seen in Europe. Mexican cooks have been identified in several clandestine laboratories supporting local production networks, particularly in synthetic drug production epicenters like the Netherlands and Poland.
In Africa, Eligh said these partnerships are developing through a “referral system” in which well-established Nigerian criminal syndicates broker relationships between continent-wide trafficking groups and trusted Mexican methamphetamine experts.
These arrangements are mutually beneficial. In exchange for technical expertise, African partners can provide Mexican chemists with discreet production sites, knowledge of the local operating environment, logistical support, and even access to protection networks, Martin Ewi, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies think tank in Africa, told InSight Crime.
Whether these alliances are temporary, opportunistic, or the first stage of a potential business expansion remains to be seen. For now, Mexican actors may be trying to diversify their connections as much as possible by experimenting in Africa and Europe, according to Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Africa as a Bridge to Profitable Markets
Africa’s location between Latin America, Asia, and Oceania offers logistical advantages. Relocating production to Africa gives Mexican traffickers access to a wider set of supply chains and high-value global markets, including Africa’s own growing methamphetamine market.
Over the last decade, methamphetamine use on the continent has spread beyond southern African markets. In South Africa, methamphetamine—known locally as only— continues to be one of the most widely consumed stimulants, deeply embedded in urban drug markets where it is closely linked to gang economies. In East Africa, rising availability has been documented in Kenya and Tanzania, where expanding urban populations and informal retail drug networks are contributing to increased stimulant consumption.
“By bringing production closer to consumers, this transactional arrangement becomes a transnational, practical business model,” Ewi said.
These partnerships allow Mexican actors to carry out production with lower operational risk while being plugged into different, less-scrutinized supply chains via partnerships with local criminal networks, Eligh added.
Africa’s geographic position also provides Mexican traffickers with easier access to high-value international markets, such as Oceania. Methamphetamine is one of the most consumed illicit drugs in Australia and New Zealand, according to a recent US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) report. By establishing production and logistics hubs in Africa, Mexican traffickers can shorten supply chains and reduce transportation costs to these lucrative consumer markets, where they already have inroads, said Eligh.
The recent seizure of a methamphetamine shipment from South Africa at Sydney Airport highlighted the increased significance of this trafficking route. Meanwhile, rising seizures in Fiji further suggest an expanding flow of methamphetamine from Africa into the Pacific.
