The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 63-year-old Chinese woman, Ting Hung Kiong, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 31 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
The suspect, who reportedly became a naturalised Malaysian citizen, was arrested on Sunday, May 17, 2026, after arriving from Thailand via Dubai on an Emirates Airlines flight.
NDLEA operatives intercepted her at the Terminal 2 arrival hall of the Lagos airport after discovering two large boxes containing the illicit substance.
According to the agency, investigations revealed that the suspect travelled from Malaysia to Thailand before proceeding to Nigeria through the United Arab Emirates with the drug consignment.
During questioning, the woman claimed she works as a caregiver in Malaysia and said her daughter sponsored her trip to Thailand and Nigeria. She also told investigators that she received the package at the airport in Thailand after spending two weeks in the country.
In another operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives intercepted a large consignment of Tapentadol tablets imported from India aboard an Emirates Cargo flight.
The agency disclosed that the shipment was monitored before it was handed over by the Nigeria Customs Service on Friday, May 22.
The 29 cartons were found to contain 1,825,710 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg valued at over ₦2.1 billion.
At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, operatives arrested Onyeka Valentine Emeka during the clearance of passengers arriving from Sierra Leone through Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
The suspect was later placed under observation and reportedly excreted 185.36 grammes of cocaine.
Meanwhile, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, a 29-year-old building engineer, Babatunde Prosper Afekhide, was arrested while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Milan, Italy.
A search of his luggage allegedly uncovered 10,280 pills of Tramaking, Tramadol and Tapentadol hidden inside a carton in his suitcase.
NDLEA operatives also intercepted various illicit drugs at a courier company in Lagos.
The seizures included 1,174 pills of MDMA concealed in a bicycle luggage carrier bound for the Netherlands, 66 tramadol tablets hidden inside a soap container destined for the United States, and 18 tramadol tablets concealed in a body cream container heading to the United Kingdom.
In Edo State, operatives raided the Igwe community in Owan East Local Government Area, recovering 59 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 489kg and cannabis seeds weighing 9kg.
In Kano State, a 30-year-old suspect, Isah Sani, was arrested along the Zaria-Kano road with 196,000 pills of Exol-5.
At the Seme border area in Lagos, officers also recovered 59kg of skunk from a warehouse in Mowo, Badagry.
Similarly, in Ekiti State, NDLEA operatives raided a warehouse in Ikole-Ekiti and recovered 1,116kg of skunk. A 54-year-old suspect, Ogundana Adebayo Julius, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
NDLEA Chairman, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the operations across Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Edo, Ekiti, Kano and Seme, urging commands nationwide to sustain the agency’s anti-drug operations and awareness campaigns.
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