The latest United State government’s report on drug
trafficking identifies Nigerian traffickers as pre-eminent globally.
Excerpts:
ILLICIT drug crops are grown, refined into illegal drugs, trafficked,
and sold on the street by criminal enterprises that attempt to conceal
every step of the process. Accurate estimates of such criminal activity
are difficult to produce.
The estimates of illicit drug production presented in the INCSR
represent the United States government’s best effort to assess the
current dimensions of the international drug problem. They are based on
agricultural surveys conducted with satellite imagery and scientific
studies of crop yields and the likely efficiency of typical illicit
refining labs. As we do every year, we publish these estimates with an
important caveat: they are estimates. While we must express our
estimates as numbers, these numbers should not be seen as precise
figures. Rather, they represent the midpoint of a band of statistical
probability that gets wider as additional variables are introduced and
as we move from cultivation to harvest to final refined drug.
As needed, the United States government revises its estimate process
and occasionally the estimates themselves – in the light of field
research and technological advancements. The clandestine, violent nature
of the illegal drug trade makes field research difficult. Geography is
also an impediment, as the harsh terrain on which many drugs are
cultivated is not always easily accessible. This is particularly
relevant given the tremendous geographic areas that must be covered and
the difficulty of collecting reliable information over diverse and
treacherous terrain.
Weather can affect our ability to gather data, particularly in the Andes, where cloud cover can be a major problem.
Improved technologies and analytical techniques may also lead us to
produce revisions to United States government estimates of potential
drug production. This is typical of annualized figures for most other
areas of statistical tracking that must be revised year to year. When
possible, we apply these new techniques to previous years’ data and
adjust appropriately, but often, especially in the case of new
technologies, we can only apply them prospectively. These illicit drug
statistics represent the current state of the art. As new information
and technology becomes applicable, the accuracy of the estimates will
improve.
Cultivation Estimates
The Unites States government conserves limited personnel and
technical resources by employing sample survey methodologies to estimate
illicit crop cultivation and concentrating survey efforts on areas with
strategic amounts of illegal cultivation or areas most likely to have
illicit crop cultivation. Each year, analysts review a variety of
datasets – including eradication data, seizure data, law enforcement
investigations information, previous field locations, and other
information – to determine areas likely to have illegal cultivation, and
revise and update the search area, if necessary. They then survey and
estimate cultivation in new areas using proven statistical techniques.
The resulting estimates meet the U.S. government’s need for an annual
estimate of illicit crop cultivation for each country. They also help
with eradication, interdiction, and other law enforcement operations. As
part of the effort to provide accurate and comprehensive assessments,
the areas surveyed are often expanded and modified, so direct comparison
with previous year estimates is sometimes not possible.
Production Estimates
Illicit crop productivity depends upon a number of factors. Changes
in weather, farming techniques, soil fertility, and disease prevalence
can produce widely varying yields from year to year and place to place.
Some illicit drug crop areas are not easily accessible to the U.S.
government, which can make scientific information difficult to obtain.
However, we continually strive to improve our drug production estimates.
The relative productivity of poppy crops in some cases can be
estimated using imagery, and our confidence in coca leaf yield continues
to improve as a result of field studies conducted in Latin America.
Coca fields which are less than 18 months of age (“new fields”) produce
much less leaf than mature fields. In Colombia, for example, fields on
average get their first small harvest at six months of age; in Bolivia
and Peru, fields are usually first harvested at 12 months of age. The
U.S. government estimates include the proportion of new fields detected
each year and adjust leaf production accordingly.
Processing Estimates
The wide variation in processing efficiency achieved by narcotics
producers complicates the task of accurately assessing the quantity of
cocaine or heroin that could be refined from a crop.
Differences in the origin and quality of the raw material and
chemicals used, the technical processing method employed, the size and
sophistication of laboratories, the skill and experience of local
workers and chemists, and decisions made in response to enforcement
pressures all affect production.
The U.S. government estimates for coca leaf, cocaine, marijuana,
opium, and heroin production are potential estimates; that is, it is
assumed that all of the coca, cannabis, and poppy grown is harvested and
processed into illicit drugs. This is a reasonable assumption for coca
leaf in Colombia. In Bolivia and Peru, however, the U.S. government
potential cocaine production estimates do not remove for coca leaf
locally chewed and used in products such as coca tea.
In Southwest and Southeast Asia and Latin America, it is not
unrealistic to assume that virtually all poppy is harvested for opium
gum, but substantial amounts of Asian opium are consumed or stored
rather than being processed into heroin; the proportion of this opium
ultimately processed into heroin is unknown.
Other International Estimates
The United States helps fund estimates done by the United Nations in
some countries. These estimates use different methodologies from the
U.S. government assessments and utilize a mix of imagery and
ground-based observations. The UN estimates are often used to help
determine the response of the international donor community to specific
countries or regions.
There have been some efforts for the U.S. government and the UN to
understand each other’s methodologies with the goal of improving both
sets of estimates. These efforts are ongoing.
This report also includes data on drug production, trafficking,
seizures, and consumption that come from host governments or
non-governmental organizations. Such data is attributed to the source
organization, especially when we cannot independently verify it.
Nigeria
Nigerian drug traffickers remain the preeminent international drug
trafficking threat based in Africa. Nigerian trafficking networks
operate in the United States as well as throughout Africa, South
America, Europe, and Asia. Nigerian drug traffickers have strengthened
partnerships with international cocaine and heroin distribution networks
to procure and distribute significant quantities of drugs in the United
States and other lucrative markets.
Nigeria is also experiencing an opioid epidemic. The most widely used
opioid in Nigeria is tramadol, a pharmaceutical product originating
mostly from India. Both legitimate Indian pharmaceutical companies and
illicit clandestine labs mass-produce and ship tramadol and counterfeit
tramadol tablets in 200, 225, and 250-milligram dosages for the Nigerian
market.
Members of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) regularly interdict
container loads of tramadol at Apapa Port in Lagos based on intelligence
from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). The NCS declines
to release the tramadol to NDLEA for destruction, and NDLEA reports
that NCS officers frequently sell seized tramadol back to its original
owners. Codeine is also widely abused, particularly by women in northern
Nigeria.
Drug Control Accomplishments, Policies, and Trends
I. Institutional Development
During 2018, the NDLEA received a major boost in capacity following
the complete refurbishment of the NDLEA Murtala Muhammed International
Airport (MMIA) Command office building into a state-of-the-art complex,
which is now the site of the newly formed Joint Border Task Force
(JBTF). The $10 million JBTF project is mostly funded and overseen by
the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA). The JBTF is a
multi-agency effort to target, interdict, disrupt, dismantle, and
prosecute Nigerian-based transnational criminal organisations.
The task force, a joint endeavor supported by both the United States
and the United Kingdom, is comprised of fully vetted and well-trained
Nigerian law enforcement investigators. MMIA is viewed as the gateway
for Nigerian criminal organisations involved in drug smuggling, as well
as the movement of unlawful proceeds; human trafficking/smuggling;
wildlife trafficking; weapons trafficking; and an array of other illegal
cross-border activity. The NDLEA is the lead agency at the JBTF,
contributing 140 officers and investigators who receive mentoring and
investigative assistance from U.S. and UK law enforcement professionals
embedded within the unit. The task force is further comprised of 20
investigative officers from the National Agency for the Prohibition of
Trafficking of Persons (NAPTIP), as well as six prosecutors.
II. Supply Reduction
In 2018, the United States continued to assist in transitioning the
NDLEA from a reactive agency to an intelligence-driven one through
mentoring and investigative support. During the first eight months of
2018, the NDLEA reported the arrests of 4,736 individuals on drug
trafficking charges (4,395 men and 341 women). The agency seized
approximately 59 metric tons (MT) of cannabis; 119 kilograms (kg) of
methamphetamine; 17 MT of tramadol; and approximately eight MT of
codeine-infused cough syrup. The NDLEA reports that in 2018, the agency
destroyed 267 MT of seized drugs overall.
In addition to these totals, the U.S.-supported NDLEA Sensitive
Investigative Unit (SIU) is credited with seizing and destroying over
1,700 hectares of cannabis plantations; six-and-a-half MT of processed
cannabis; four MT of tramadol; four kg of cocaine; and 250 kg of
ephedrine.
The SIU seized properties and financial instruments approximately
totaling $2 million and arrested 25 drug traffickers. Additionally, the
SIU shared intelligence with counterparts in Benin and Japan that led to
seizures of methamphetamine totaling 40 kg.
iii. Public Information, Prevention, and Treatment
Consumption of illicit and misused drugs within Nigeria is increasing
alarmingly. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has
called on the government of Nigeria to address the growing abuse of
pharmaceuticals by many Nigerian youths.
While cocaine is not readily accessible to the middle and lower
classes, drugs such as codeine, rohypnol, and tramadol are accessible
and available from street vendors on the streets of every city and town
in Nigeria.
The NDLEA’s Demand Reduction Directorate nominally has programs that
target youth, sex workers, community leaders, and transport workers.
However, resources allocated for counseling and rehabilitation for
substance use disorders are negligible.
iv Corruption
A large percentage of senior government officials are engaged, either
directly or indirectly, in corrupt practices. In 2017 (the latest
available data), the annual operating budget for the NDLEA was
approximately $25,450,000. Salaries alone for the 5,001 NDLEA personnel
were estimated at approximately $24,000,000, leaving the entire
organisation to operate on a meager $1,450,000 per year. NDLEA is
comprised of 42 commands that typically each receive approximately
$2,800 per month to fund their operations, to include fuel for vehicles
and generators, utilities, travel, and various investigative expenses.
In 2018, NDLEA staff from various commands reported that no funds were
dispersed. This failure at both the institutional and federal government
levels encourages NDLEA staff to supplement their salaries and
enforcement activities through the acceptance of bribes and extortion.
National Goals, Bilateral Cooperation, and U.S. Policy Initiatives
The NDLEA’s primary national goals for 2018 were the passage of a Drug
Sentencing Bill requesting a mandatory minimum five-year sentence for
drug possession, and an increase of 15,000 personnel. The sentencing
bill remained pending before the National Assembly at the conclusion of
2018, and although President Muhammmadu Buhari approved the agency’s
request for an increase in personnel in 2017, funding had not been
allocated to begin recruitment.
Conclusion
The NDLEA provides a framework for the Government of Nigeria to
pursue its drug control objectives and cooperate with international
partners to achieve these goals. To increase the agency’s effectiveness,
the government of Nigeria will need to provide, and equitably
distribute, increased funding and training to the NDLEA. The United
States will continue to engage the Government of Nigeria to combat drug
trafficking, corruption, money laundering, and other criminal issues.
The institutional and societal factors that contribute to these criminal
activities remain deeply rooted and will require a comprehensive and
collaborative effort. Progress will require sustained Nigerian
government efforts and an increased political will.
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