The Chairman and Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd.), has directed investigators and prosecutors to intensify efforts to trace, seize and recover assets linked to narcotics trafficking.
Marwa said the fight against drug cartels could no longer rely solely on arrests and drug seizures, stressing the need to dismantle the financial networks that sustain the illicit trade.
He gave the directive on Wednesday in Abuja while opening an advanced capacity-building programme on financial investigations, asset tracing, forfeiture, recovery and management of proceeds and instrumentalities linked to narcotics trafficking and organised crime.
According to Marwa, drug trafficking operates as an economic enterprise supported by financiers, facilitators, money launderers and other professional enablers who often remain behind the scenes.
He urged NDLEA personnel to move beyond intercepting drug shipments and arresting couriers by developing stronger capabilities to investigate financial transactions, identify hidden assets, establish beneficial ownership and trace illicit funds across borders.
Marwa noted that criminal networks are increasingly exploiting cryptocurrencies, digital technology, complex corporate structures and legitimate businesses to disguise the ownership and origins of their illicit wealth.
He said the agency’s growing success in drug seizures and the prosecution of traffickers must now be matched with stronger efforts to strip criminal organisations of the wealth that finances their operations.
The NDLEA boss said the ultimate objective was to make drug trafficking a high-risk and low-profit enterprise by attacking the economic foundations of the illicit market.
He also called for closer coordination among the agency’s intelligence, investigation, prosecution, forensic, asset recovery and financial investigation directorates, saying they must operate as interconnected parts of a single enforcement chain.
Marwa further stressed the importance of stronger collaboration among law enforcement and other relevant institutions, noting that sophisticated criminal networks cannot be effectively dismantled by a single agency acting alone.
He said the drug trade is increasingly linked to other serious crimes, including money laundering, corruption, cybercrime, human trafficking and illicit arms trafficking, making sustained intelligence sharing and inter-agency cooperation critical to disrupting organised criminal networks.
