The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), has ordered investigators and prosecutors to intensify the tracing and recovery of assets and proceeds tied to drug trafficking, saying arrests and drug seizures alone cannot dismantle organized cartels.
Marwa spoke on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, in Abuja, while opening an advanced training programme on financial investigations, asset tracing, forfeiture, recovery and management of proceeds and instrumentalities of narcotics trafficking and related organised crime.
He said investigators must pursue financiers, facilitators, money launderers and other professional enablers who provide the financial backbone of the drug trade.
Marwa said traffickers were increasingly exploiting cryptocurrencies, digital technology, corporate structures and legitimate businesses to conceal illicit wealth, making financial intelligence central to disrupting their operations.
He tasked investigators and prosecutors with strengthening their ability to unravel complex transactions, establish beneficial ownership, trace assets across borders and use digital evidence to support forfeiture and recovery cases.
According to him, the NDLEA’s gains in drug seizures and prosecutions must be followed by efforts to weaken the economic foundation of trafficking and make the business increasingly risky and unprofitable.
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He also demanded closer coordination among the agency’s intelligence, investigation, prosecution, forensic, asset and financial investigation directorates, as well as stronger cooperation with other law enforcement and financial intelligence agencies.
Marwa stressed that asset recovery should extend beyond seizure and forfeiture, calling for transparent and accountable management of recovered property through eventual disposal.
The directive follows the NDLEA’s recent asset-recovery drive. In June 2026, the agency auctioned four properties forfeited by convicted drug traffickers for N6.148 billion, including a six-storey hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos.
The Abuja programme attracted NDLEA investigators and prosecutors, Federal High Court judges, and representatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), among other experts.
In a goodwill message delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Terhemba Tsoho, commended the NDLEA for its progress under Marwa.
Tsoho said the increasingly sophisticated nature of drug-related crime, including cryptocurrency-enabled money laundering, demanded stronger investigative capabilities and closer cooperation among the judiciary and law enforcement agencies.
He said such collaboration would strengthen Nigeria’s response to organized crime and enhance its international standing.