In a development that mirrors a plot from Breaking Bad, the United States government has confirmed that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most dangerous criminal organizations, was operating a large-scale methamphetamine lab in Kenya.
This marks CJNG’s first confirmed presence in East Africa, indicating a worrying expansion of its global operations, according to the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report published in March 2025.
The lab, hidden within a simple iron-sheet structure, was located in Namanga, near the Kenya-Tanzania border, a strategic area for smuggling drugs into Europe, the Arabian Peninsula, and beyond. A multi-agency raid dismantled the lab in September 2024, in what authorities hailed as a major victory against international drug trafficking.
US officials warn that despite a reported decline in drug seizures in Kenya, traffickers could be manipulating market prices for greater profits. Investigations are ongoing to determine whether the meth produced in Kenya was for local use or international distribution.
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