The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 63-year-old Chinese woman, Ting Hung Kiong, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 31 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
The suspect, said to have naturalised in Malaysia, was apprehended by NDLEA operatives on May 17, 2026, shortly after arriving in Lagos from Thailand via Dubai aboard an Emirates Airline flight. According to the agency, she was intercepted at the Terminal 2 Arrival Hall with two large travel boxes containing the illicit consignment.
Investigations revealed that the suspect travelled from Malaysia to Thailand before proceeding to Nigeria through the United Arab Emirates. During interrogation, she reportedly told operatives that her daughter sponsored the trip and that the drugs were handed to her at the Thailand airport for delivery in Nigeria.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives also recovered 1,825,710 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg valued at over N2.1 billion at the import shed of the Lagos airport. The consignment, which arrived from India aboard an Emirates Cargo flight, was handed over to the anti-narcotics agency by the Nigeria Customs Service on May 22 after sustained monitoring.
At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, operatives intercepted a suspect, Onyeka Valentine Emeka, during inward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sierra Leone via Addis Ababa. The agency said the suspect later excreted 185.36 grams of cocaine after being placed under observation.
Similarly, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, a 29-year-old building engineer, Babatunde Prosper Afekhide, was arrested while attempting to board a flight to Milan, Italy, via Addis Ababa. NDLEA said a search of his luggage uncovered 10,280 pills of Tramaking, Tramadol, and Tapentadol concealed in cartons and wrapped with foil paper to evade detection.
The agency also recorded additional seizures across the country. In Lagos, operatives intercepted 1,174 pills of MDMA concealed in bicycle luggage carriers bound for the Netherlands, while tramadol pills hidden in soap and body cream containers destined for the United States and the United Kingdom were also recovered.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided Igwe community in Owan East Local Government Area where 59 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 489 kilograms and 9 kilograms of cannabis seeds were seized.
Operatives in Kano arrested a suspect, Isah Sani, along the Zaria-Kano road with 196,000 pills of Exol-5, while officers at the Seme border in Badagry recovered 59 kilograms of skunk from a warehouse in Mowo area.
In Ekiti State, operatives raided a warehouse in Ikole-Ekiti and recovered 1,116 kilograms of skunk. A 54-year-old suspect, Ogundana Adebayo Julius, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
The NDLEA also said its Commands nationwide intensified sensitisation campaigns under its War Against Drug Abuse initiative in schools, worship centres, and communities across states including Oyo, Anambra, Katsina, Lagos, Enugu, Ekiti, and Kano.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain the momentum in combating drug trafficking and abuse across the country.
