Africa's shifting role in the global drug trade

For years, Africa was primarily known as a transit point for international drug trafficking networks. But recent drug seizures and laboratory discoveries show that illicit drugs are no longer only passing through African countries — they are increasingly being manufactured there. Recent discoveries of methamphetamine laboratories in countries such as Nigeria , South Africa , Kenya and Mozambique have fueled concerns that Africa is becoming a significant production hub for synthetic drugs. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), synthetic drug production increasingly involves transnational criminal networks and clandestine laboratories capable of supplying both local and international markets.