The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has called for stronger international cooperation to seize the proceeds of drug trafficking, warning that arrests alone cannot dismantle criminal networks or prevent illicit wealth from financing new operations.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), made the call at the 43rd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime in the United Kingdom.
Marwa spoke during a session attended by judges, law enforcement chiefs, financial intelligence experts and academics. The symposium was organised by the Centre for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge.
Delivering a presentation titled “Criminal Property and the Criminal Process: How Can We Make It More Effective?”, Marwa said law enforcement agencies must target the financial foundations of organised crime.
He said the effectiveness of the criminal justice system should not be measured only by the number of convictions secured, but also by its ability to make crime unprofitable.
According to him, traffickers who retain their wealth after arrest can use it to finance new operations and support criminal associates.
“The ultimate objective must therefore be to deny criminals the proceeds of their crime, promptly, and lawfully while preserving the value of the property,” he said.
Marwa likened arrests without asset seizures to “pruning a weed at the stem while leaving its roots undisturbed,” warning that criminal wealth could resurface under different names, front companies or jurisdictions.
He outlined six strategies being deployed by the NDLEA to strengthen asset recovery and financial disruption, backed by the NDLEA Act 2004, the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act 2022 and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
He cited the forfeiture of the Hook Hotel, a property linked to a fugitive drug suspect, as an example. The property was recovered through non-conviction-based forfeiture and sold for $4.2 million, with the proceeds paid into the Federal Government’s forfeited assets account domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Marwa said the case demonstrated that fugitives could not evade justice while retaining the benefits of their crimes.
He disclosed that the agency froze bank accounts worth more than $7 million in one month and secured interim forfeiture orders covering multibillion-naira assets, including filling stations, multi-storey buildings and exotic vehicles linked to a fugitive methamphetamine syndicate.
Marwa also highlighted the case of Nigerian billionaire and suspected drug baron Amadi Simon, who was arrested in Switzerland through a joint operation involving the NDLEA, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and authorities in Switzerland, Greece and France.
He said three hotels linked to the suspect were placed under professional asset managers instead of being shut down, to preserve their value while the trial continues.
The NDLEA chairman said the agency also uses unexplained wealth and lifestyles beyond legitimate means as investigative triggers and can seek interlocutory sales of perishable or depreciating assets.
He said these measures had been incorporated into Nigeria’s National Drug Control Master Plan 2026–2030, making financial disruption of drug trafficking organisations a sustained national priority.
Marwa, however, acknowledged challenges in international asset recovery, including 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.
According to him, the NDLEA’s approach is anchored on three principles: speed over sequence, preservation of value and institutionalisation.
He reaffirmed the agency’s readiness to deepen cooperation with countries and institutions working to dismantle the financial structures supporting international drug trafficking.
