NDLEA Arrests 63-Year-Old Chinese National with 31kg of ‘Canadian Loud’ at Lagos Airport

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 63-year-old Chinese woman at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos for allegedly attempting to smuggle 31 kilograms of synthetic cannabis into Nigeria. The suspect, identified as Ting Hung Kiong, was arrested by NDLEA operatives attached to the Terminal 2 Arrival Hall of the airport after arriving from Thailand through Dubai aboard an Emirates Airlines flight.

According to the anti-narcotics agency, the suspect is a Chinese national who had reportedly become naturalised in Malaysia. Officials said she was intercepted with two large suitcases containing 31 kilograms of “Canadian Loud,” a potent synthetic strain of cannabis increasingly linked to international trafficking operations.

Investigations conducted by the agency indicated that the suspect travelled from Malaysia to Thailand before proceeding to Nigeria through the United Arab Emirates. During interrogation, the suspect reportedly claimed she works as a caregiver in Malaysia and said her daughter sponsored her travel arrangements.

She further disclosed that she spent two weeks in Thailand before allegedly receiving the illicit consignment for delivery in Nigeria. The arrest formed part of a broader series of anti-drug operations carried out by the NDLEA across airports, border communities and courier networks nationwide.

In another major seizure, the agency recovered 1,825,710 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg valued at more than N2.19 billion at the import shed of the Lagos airport. The opioid shipment, which arrived from India aboard an Emirates Cargo flight, had reportedly been placed under surveillance before it was formally transferred to the NDLEA by the Nigeria Customs Service.

At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, operatives also arrested a suspect identified as Onyeka Valentine Emeka during passenger clearance for an Ethiopian Airlines flight arriving from Sierra Leone through Addis Ababa. The NDLEA said the suspect later excreted 185.36 grams of cocaine after being placed under observation.

Meanwhile, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, officers arrested a 29-year-old building engineer, Babatunde Prosper Afekhide, while he attempted to board a flight to Milan, Italy. Authorities said a search of his luggage uncovered more than 10,000 pills of Tramadol and Tapentadol concealed inside a carton wrapped with foil paper.

Additional operations in Lagos led to the interception of MDMA, commonly known as Ecstasy, concealed inside bicycle luggage carriers destined for the Netherlands. The agency also recovered Tramadol hidden inside cosmetic and soap containers intended for shipment to the United States and the United Kingdom.

Outside the airports, NDLEA operatives conducted raids in multiple states.

In Edo State, officers recovered 489 kilograms of skunk and cannabis seeds during a raid in the Igwe community of Owan East Local Government Area.

At the Seme border in Badagry, Lagos, operatives uncovered 59 kilograms of skunk from a warehouse in Mowo, while in Ekiti State, officers seized more than one tonne of skunk during an operation in Ikole-Ekiti. A suspect identified as Ogundana Adebayo Julius was arrested in connection with the Ekiti seizure.

The NDLEA also confirmed that anti-drug sensitisation campaigns under its War Against Drug Abuse initiative continued in schools and communities across several states including Oyo, Anambra, Katsina, Lagos and Kano.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the operations and urged commands nationwide to sustain both enforcement and public awareness campaigns.

The agency said the latest seizures underscore the increasing sophistication of international narcotics trafficking networks and the growing role of Nigerian airports and transit corridors in global drug smuggling routes.