Drug Barons Must Lose Their Wealth to Be Truly Defeated, Marwa Tells Cambridge Symposium

By Zagazola Makama

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), has declared that the war against drug trafficking cannot be won through arrests and convictions alone, stressing that drug barons must also be stripped of the financial resources sustaining their criminal enterprises.

Marwa made the declaration while delivering a presentation titled, “Criminal Property and the Criminal Process: How Can We Make It More Effective?” at the ongoing 43rd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime, organised by the Centre for Geopolitics, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

The international symposium brought together judges, law enforcement chiefs, financial intelligence experts, academics and other specialists in the fight against economic and organised crime.

Marwa told the gathering that the effectiveness of the criminal justice system should not be measured solely by the number of convictions secured, but also by whether criminals are prevented from benefiting from the proceeds of their crimes.

According to him, a trafficker who loses his freedom but retains his wealth has not been completely defeated, as such resources could be deployed to finance new operations, support criminal associates and sustain the wider network.

“The ultimate objective must therefore be to deny criminals the proceeds of their crime, promptly, and lawfully while preserving the value of the property,” Marwa said.

He explained that the NDLEA had increasingly adopted financial investigations and asset recovery as a core component of its strategy against drug trafficking organisations.

The NDLEA boss likened arresting a trafficker without dismantling his financial base to “pruning a weed at the stem while leaving its roots undisturbed,” warning that illicit wealth could resurface through front companies, new identities or different jurisdictions.

Marwa outlined six practical strategies deployed by the agency to strengthen asset recovery, relying on provisions of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency 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 allegedly linked to a fugitive drug suspect, as an example of the agency’s application of non-conviction-based forfeiture.

According to him, the property was recovered and subsequently 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 development demonstrated that fleeing the country or remaining at large would not necessarily allow a suspect to retain the benefits of alleged criminal activities.

He also disclosed that NDLEA investigators and prosecutors are now working together from the early stages of cases, a reform he said had helped reduce the time between arrests and the securing of asset restraint orders.

According to him, within the last month alone, the agency froze bank accounts containing more than $7 million and secured interim forfeiture orders covering multibillion-naira assets allegedly linked to a fugitive methamphetamine syndicate.

The assets, he said, included filling stations, multi-storey buildings and exotic vehicles.

Speaking on the case involving Nigerian businessman Amadi Simon, who was arrested in Switzerland through a joint operation involving the NDLEA, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and authorities in Switzerland, Greece and France, Marwa said three hotels linked to the suspect were placed under professional asset managers.

He explained that the decision was aimed at preserving the value of the businesses as going concerns rather than allowing the properties to deteriorate while legal proceedings continue.

The NDLEA chairman further highlighted the use of unexplained wealth and lifestyles beyond legitimate means as investigative triggers in identifying suspected proceeds of crime.

He also pointed to the use of interlocutory sales for perishable and depreciating assets to prevent the loss of value before final determination by the courts.

Marwa said the financial disruption strategy had now been incorporated into Nigeria’s National Drug Control Master Plan 2026–2030, making the dismantling of the financial architecture of drug trafficking a sustained national priority.

He distilled the agency’s approach into three guiding principles: speed over sequence, preservation of value and institutionalisation.

While acknowledging progress, Marwa identified delays in mutual legal assistance, limited forensic accounting capacity and the need to balance the rights of accused persons with the state’s responsibility to preserve assets pending trial as continuing challenges.

He called for faster international cooperation mechanisms and stronger cross-border recognition of non-conviction-based forfeiture orders.

Marwa reaffirmed the NDLEA’s commitment to strengthening partnerships with international jurisdictions and institutions in order to dismantle the financial structures that enable drug trafficking organisations to operate.

He thanked the Centre for Geopolitics, the organisers of the symposium and Judge Wendy Tien, who chaired the session, for providing a platform for the exchange of ideas on strengthening the global fight against economic and organised crime.

Drug Barons Must Lose Their Wealth to Be Truly Defeated, Marwa Tells Cambridge Symposium