Go After Their Money” — Marwa Orders NDLEA To Target Drug Cartels’ Finances

The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), has ordered investigators to intensify efforts to trace and dismantle the financial networks sustaining drug trafficking in Nigeria.

Marwa said the agency must move beyond arresting couriers and intercepting narcotics by targeting the financiers, assets and illicit proceeds behind organised drug operations.

He made the call on Wednesday in Abuja at the opening of a specialised training programme for investigators and prosecutors on financial investigation, asset tracing and recovery, forfeiture, and asset management.

According to Marwa, arresting drug couriers or seizing narcotics without going after the financial resources of criminal organisations would only address part of the problem.

He said, “If we arrest the courier but leave the financier untouched, seize the drugs but allow the proceeds to remain with the criminal enterprise, or secure a conviction without recovering the illicit wealth, we have addressed only part of the problem.”

The NDLEA chairman described drug trafficking as a profit-driven criminal enterprise, noting that financiers, money launderers, facilitators and other individuals involved in concealing or moving illicit funds play important roles in sustaining drug networks.

He urged investigators to follow financial trails alongside conventional narcotics investigations, stressing that depriving traffickers of their wealth would make it harder for them to rebuild their operations.

Marwa also warned that organised criminal groups were increasingly adopting sophisticated methods, including cryptocurrency transactions, complex corporate structures and legitimate businesses, to conceal the origin and ownership of illicit funds.

He said law enforcement officers must therefore develop the technical capacity to trace complicated transactions, identify beneficial owners, gather digital evidence and track criminal proceeds across jurisdictions.

“The sophistication of organised crime demands a corresponding sophistication in our response,” he said.

“We must move from crime detection to crime disruption; from arresting offenders to dismantling criminal enterprises; and from confiscating drugs to depriving traffickers of the wealth that motivates and sustains their activities.”

The NDLEA boss said the agency had recorded progress in narcotics interception and prosecution but stressed that future operations must increasingly focus on making drug trafficking financially unattractive.

He identified the links between drug trafficking and other forms of organised crime, including money laundering, corruption, cybercrime, human trafficking and illicit arms trafficking.

“The drug trafficking ecosystem intersects with money laundering, corruption, cybercrime, human trafficking, illicit arms trafficking and other forms of organised crime,” Marwa said.

He called for stronger cooperation among intelligence officers, investigators, prosecutors, forensic experts and financial investigators within the NDLEA to ensure that information gathered during operations is effectively utilised.

Officials from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) participated in the training.

Marwa said collaboration among law enforcement institutions and the judiciary was critical to successful asset tracing, recovery and forfeiture.

He also demanded transparency in the handling of recovered assets, warning that poor management could reduce their value and undermine public confidence in the forfeiture process.

The NDLEA chairman urged participants to apply the knowledge gained from the training to future investigations and share their expertise with other officers.

The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, also called for stronger cooperation between the judiciary and law enforcement agencies involved in combating drug and financial crimes.

Tsoho, who was represented at the event by Justice Inyang Ekwo, noted that drug-related crimes had become increasingly sophisticated, extending into areas such as financial crime and cryptocurrency-enabled money laundering.

He commended the NDLEA for its efforts in tackling drug trafficking and stressed the importance of effective collaboration between the judiciary and relevant security agencies in strengthening Nigeria’s response to organised crime.