The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 63-year-old Chinese woman, Ting Hung Kiong, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 31 kilograms of synthetic cannabis into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
According to the agency, the suspect said to be a Chinese national naturalised in Malaysia was apprehended on Sunday, May 17, shortly after arriving in Nigeria from Thailand through Dubai aboard an Emirates Airline flight.
NDLEA operatives attached to the Terminal 2 Arrival Hall of the Lagos airport reportedly intercepted the woman with two large suitcases containing the illicit substances identified as Canadian Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis.
Investigators said preliminary findings showed that the suspect travelled from Malaysia to Thailand before continuing her journey to Nigeria through the United Arab Emirates.
The anti-drug agency disclosed that the recovered cannabis weighed a total of 31 kilograms.
During interrogation, the suspect reportedly told investigators that she works as a caregiver in Malaysia and that her daughter financed her journey from Malaysia to Thailand and later to Nigeria.
She also admitted spending two weeks in Thailand before allegedly receiving the drug consignment at the airport for delivery in Nigeria.
Massive Drug Seizures Recorded
In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives recovered 1,825,710 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg estimated to be worth over N2.19 billion.
According to the agency, the shipment arrived from India aboard an Emirates Cargo flight and had been under surveillance before it was eventually transferred to the NDLEA by the Nigeria Customs Service on Friday, May 22.
At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, officers also intercepted a suspect identified as Onyeka Valentine Emeka during the clearance of passengers arriving from Sierra Leone through Addis Ababa aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
The agency said the suspect was placed under observation after his arrest and later excreted 185.36 grams of cocaine.
Similarly, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, NDLEA operatives arrested a 29-year-old building engineer, Babatunde Prosper Afekhide, while he was preparing to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Milan, Italy, through Addis Ababa.
A search of his luggage reportedly uncovered 10,280 pills of Tramadol 225mg, Tramadol 200mg, and Tapentadol 250mg concealed inside a carton wrapped with foil paper and hidden in a suitcase.
In Lagos, officials at a courier company intercepted 1,174 pills of MDMA, commonly known as Ecstasy, hidden inside bicycle luggage carriers meant for shipment to the Netherlands.
The agency also recovered 66 pills of Tramadol 225mg concealed inside a soap container destined for the United States, as well as 18 tablets hidden in a body cream container bound for the United Kingdom.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence stormed the Igwe community in Owan East Local Government Area, where they recovered 59 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 489 kilograms, alongside nine kilograms of cannabis seeds.
Another suspect, identified as 30-year-old Isah Sani, was arrested along the Zaria-Kano road with 196,000 pills of Exol-5.
At the Seme border area in Badagry, Lagos State, operatives also recovered 59 kilograms of skunk from a warehouse located in Mowo, Badagry.
In Ekiti State, officers raided a warehouse in Ikole-Ekiti on Saturday, May 23, where they seized 1,116 kilograms of skunk.
The agency said a 54-year-old suspect, Ogundana Adebayo Julius, was arrested in connection with the operation.
NDLEA Intensifies Awareness Campaigns
Beyond enforcement activities, the NDLEA said its commands nationwide continued with the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign targeted at schools, communities, workplaces, and religious centres.
The awareness programmes were carried out in several institutions, including Command Day School in Mokola, Ibadan; Girls Secondary School in Amenyi, Anambra State; Matazu Model Primary School in Katsina State; C&S Primary School in Ikorodu, Lagos; and Government Girls Secondary School in Kurna, Kano State.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers attached to the MMIA, NAIA, AIIA, Edo, Ekiti, Seme, and Kano Commands, as well as the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, for the successful arrests and seizures.
Marwa praised the officers for sustaining both anti-drug operations and nationwide sensitisation efforts, urging them to maintain the momentum in the fight against drug trafficking and abuse across the country.
