By Adebola Isimijola, Lagos
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 63-year-old Chinese woman at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 31 kilograms of synthetic cannabis, popularly known as Canadian Loud, into Nigeria.
The agency also intercepted opioid consignments worth over N2.1 billion imported from India through the Lagos airport cargo section.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, the suspect, identified as Ting Hung Kiong, was arrested on May 17 upon her arrival in Nigeria from Thailand via Dubai aboard an Emirates Airline flight.
Babafemi said the suspect, a Chinese national naturalised in Malaysia, was intercepted at the Terminal 2 arrival hall of the airport with two large travel boxes containing the illicit substance.
“Investigation revealed that the suspect travelled from Malaysia to Thailand and subsequently to Nigeria via the UAE with two large travel boxes containing the synthetic cannabis consignment weighing 31.0 kilograms,” the statement said.
During interrogation, the suspect reportedly claimed she works as a caregiver in Malaysia and said her daughter sponsored the trip.
“She further disclosed that she spent two weeks in Thailand before she was handed the illicit consignment at the Thailand airport to deliver in Nigeria,” Babafemi added.
In another operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives intercepted a shipment of 1,825,710 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg imported from India aboard an Emirates Cargo flight.
The agency said the drugs, estimated at N2,190,852,000, were handed over to NDLEA by the Nigeria Customs Service on Friday after days of surveillance at the airport’s import shed.
The anti-narcotics agency also recorded arrests and seizures in other parts of the country.
At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, operatives arrested one Onyeka Valentine Emeka during passenger clearance on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sierra Leone through Addis Ababa. The suspect later excreted 185.36 grams of cocaine after being placed under observation.
Similarly, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, NDLEA operatives arrested a 29-year-old building engineer, Babatunde Prosper Afekhide, while preparing to board a flight to Milan, Italy, via Addis Ababa.
A search of his luggage reportedly led to the recovery of 10,280 pills of Tramaking, Tramadol and Tapentadol concealed inside a carton and wrapped with foil paper.
The agency further disclosed that its officers at a Lagos courier company intercepted 1,174 pills of MDMA concealed in bicycle luggage carriers meant for the Netherlands, as well as tramadol tablets hidden in soap and body cream containers destined for the United States and the United Kingdom.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided Igwe community in Owan East Local Government Area, where they recovered 59 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 489kg alongside 9kg of cannabis seeds.
In Kano State, a suspect, Isah Sani, was arrested along the Zaria-Kano road with 196,000 pills of Exol-5, while officers at the Seme border in Lagos recovered 59kg of skunk from a warehouse in Badagry.
The agency also uncovered a warehouse in Ikole-Ekiti, Ekiti State, where operatives seized 1,116kg of skunk and arrested a 54-year-old suspect, Ogundana Adebayo Julius.
Babafemi said NDLEA commands across the country also intensified their War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns in schools and communities during the week.
Reacting to the operations, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the arrests and seizures.
He charged operatives across the country to sustain the agency’s drug supply reduction campaign alongside its public enlightenment initiatives.
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