NDLEA arrested a 63-year-old Chinese woman and seized opioid drugs valued at over N2.1 billion in Lagos.
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 Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The suspect, said to be a Malaysian naturalised citizen, was arrested on May 17, 2026, at the Terminal 2 Arrival Hall of the airport after arriving from Thailand via Dubai on an Emirates Airline flight.
According to the NDLEA, investigations revealed 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.
Spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, disclosed in a statement on Sunday that the suspect claimed during interrogation that she works as a caregiver in Malaysia.
He said the suspect further stated that her daughter sponsored the trip and that the drug consignment was handed over to her at the Thailand airport after spending two weeks in the country.
In another operation, the NDLEA recovered 1,825,710 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg valued at over N2.1 billion at the import shed of the Lagos airport.
The opioid consignment, which arrived from India aboard an Emirates Cargo flight, was handed over to NDLEA officials by the Nigeria Customs Service after days of surveillance and monitoring.
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, 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.
The agency also intercepted 1,174 pills of MDMA, popularly known as Ecstasy, concealed inside a bicycle luggage carrier bound for the Netherlands at a Lagos courier facility.
Additional seizures included tramadol pills hidden inside 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, recovering 489 kilogrammes of skunk and nine kilogrammes of cannabis seeds.
A separate operation along the Zaria-Kano road led to the arrest of a suspect, Isah Sani, with 196,000 pills of Exol-5.
At the Seme border area of Lagos, operatives recovered 59 kilogrammes of skunk from a warehouse in Mowo, Badagry.
In Ekiti State, NDLEA operatives also raided a warehouse in Ikole-Ekiti where 1,116 kilogrammes of skunk were recovered, while a 54-year-old suspect, Ogundana Adebayo Julius, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
The agency added that 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.
