NDLEA Nabs 63-Year-Old Chinese Woman With 31kg ‘Canadian Loud’ At Lagos Airport, Seizes N2.1bn Opioids Shipment
By Bukar BOLORI
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 63-year-old Chinese woman, Ting Hung Kiong, over an alleged attempt to smuggle 31 kilogrammes of “Canadian Loud,” a synthetic strain of cannabis, into Nigeria through the Lagos airport.
The suspect, said to be a Malaysian naturalised citizen, was arrested on May 17, 2026, at the Terminal 2 Arrival Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport , Lagos after arriving from Thailand via Dubai on an Emirates Airline flight.
According to the NDLEA, investigations showed that the suspect travelled from Malaysia to Thailand before heading to Nigeria through the United Arab Emirates with two large suitcases containing the illicit drug consignment.
The spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi in a statement on Sunday, said the suspect, who claimed to be a caregiver in Malaysia, disclosed during interrogation that her daughter sponsored the trip and that she was handed the drug consignment at the Thailand airport for delivery in Nigeria after spending two weeks in the Asian country.
In another major operation, Babafemi said the agency 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, he said was handed over to NDLEA officials by the Nigeria Customs Service last Friday, following days of surveillance and monitoring by anti-narcotics operatives.
At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, NDLEA operatives intercepted one Onyeka Valentine Emeka during passenger clearance on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sierra Leone through Addis Ababa. The suspect was later found to have 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 identified as Babatunde 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 225mg, Tramadol 200mg and Tapentadol 250mg concealed in cartons wrapped with foil paper in an apparent attempt to evade detection.
The agency also intercepted 1,174 pills of MDMA, popularly known as Ecstasy, hidden inside a bicycle luggage carrier and bound for the Netherlands at a Lagos courier facility. Additional seizures included tramadol pills concealed in soap and body cream containers destined for the United States and the United Kingdom.
In Edo State, operatives of the anti-narcotics agency raided Igwe community in Owan East Local Government Area where 489 kilogrammes of skunk and nine kilogrammes of cannabis seeds were recovered.
A separate operation along the Zaria-Kano road led to the arrest of a suspect, Isah Sani, with 196,000 pills of Exol-5, while officers at the Seme border area of Lagos recovered 59 kilogrammes of skunk from a warehouse in Mowo, Badagry.
In Ekiti State, NDLEA operatives raided a warehouse in Ikole-Ekiti and recovered 1,116 kilogrammes of skunk. A 54-year-old suspect, Ogundana Adebayo Julius, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
The anti-drug agency also said its commands nationwide sustained the War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign across schools and communities, in Oyo, Anambra, Katsina, Lagos, Enugu, Ekiti and Kano states.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the various operations and urged them to intensify efforts aimed at reducing drug trafficking and abuse across the country.
