NDLEA Boss Tells Global Experts Agency Uses Asset Recovery To Dismantle Drug Cartels
Felix Mbata, Lagos state
The Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), has told an international gathering of judges, law enforcement chiefs, financial intelligence experts and academics that the war against drug trafficking cannot be won by arrests alone.
Speaking at the 43rd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime organised by the Centre for Geopolitics, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, Marwa said the criminal process must also aggressively target the proceeds of crime.
Delivering a presentation titled “Criminal Property and the Criminal Process: How Can We Make It More Effective?” at a session chaired by Honourable Judge Wendy Tien, the NDLEA boss declared:
“The effectiveness of the criminal process should not be measured only by the number of convictions secured. It should also be measured by whether crime is made unprofitable. A trafficker who loses his liberty but retains his fortune has not truly been defeated. His wealth can finance another operation, support his associates and sustain the criminal enterprise.”
“The ultimate objective must therefore be to deny criminals the proceeds of their crime, promptly and lawfully while preserving the value of the property. Nigeria, through NDLEA, will continue to strengthen this approach,” he added.
ARREST WITHOUT ASSET SEIZURE IS “PRUNING WEED AT THE STEM”
Marwa warned that arresting a trafficker without dismantling his fortune was like “pruning a weed at the stem while leaving its roots undisturbed”, noting that such wealth simply resurfaces “under a different name, through a different front company, in a different jurisdiction.”
He outlined six practical strategies NDLEA has deployed to strengthen asset recovery, anchored on the NDLEA Act 2004, the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act 2022, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
$4.2M HOOK HOTEL FORFEITURE, $7M BANK FREEZES CITED
Citing examples, Marwa said NDLEA secured the forfeiture of Hook Hotel, a property linked to a fugitive drug suspect, through non-conviction-based forfeiture. The property was sold for $4.2 million, with proceeds paid into the Federal Government’s forfeited assets account domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He disclosed that NDLEA investigators and prosecutors are now embedded together from the inception of cases. “Last month alone, the Agency froze bank accounts worth over $7 million and secured interim forfeiture orders covering multibillion-naira assets, including filling stations, multi-storey buildings and exotic vehicles linked to a fugitive methamphetamine syndicate,” he revealed.
On the landmark case of Nigerian billionaire and suspected drug baron Amadi Simon, arrested in Switzerland through a joint operation involving NDLEA, U.S. DEA, and authorities in Switzerland, Greece and France, Marwa explained that three hotels linked to the suspect were placed under professional asset managers rather than shut down, to preserve their value pending trial.
THREE GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR FINANCIAL WAR ON DRUGS
Marwa said NDLEA is also using provisions on unexplained wealth and living beyond legitimate means as investigative triggers, and the interlocutory sale of perishable assets to protect value ahead of final judgment.
He noted these efforts have been institutionalised in Nigeria’s National Drug Control Master Plan 2026–2030, ensuring financial disruption of cartels remains a national priority.
Distilling NDLEA’s experience into three guiding principles: speed over sequence, preservation of value, and institutionalization, Marwa acknowledged challenges around delays in mutual legal assistance and limited forensic accounting capacity.
He called for faster international cooperation and stronger cross-border recognition of non-conviction-based forfeiture orders.
Marwa thanked the Centre for Geopolitics and Judge Tien for the platform, and reaffirmed NDLEA’s readiness to deepen partnerships to dismantle the financial architecture of drug trafficking.