NDLEA operatives display seized illicit drugs recovered from suspects during coordinated anti-narcotics operations across Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Edo, Kano and Ekiti states.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 63-year-old Chinese woman, identified as Ting Hung Kiong, for allegedly attempting to smuggle a large consignment of synthetic cannabis into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
The suspect, described as a grandmother and a Malaysian-based caregiver, was apprehended on May 17, 2026, shortly after arriving in Nigeria from Thailand via Dubai aboard an Emirates Airline flight.
According to the anti-narcotics agency, NDLEA operatives attached to the Terminal 2 Arrival Hall of the airport intercepted the suspect with two large travel boxes containing 31 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Ting travelled from Malaysia to Thailand before proceeding to Nigeria through the United Arab Emirates. During interrogation, she reportedly told investigators that her daughter sponsored the trip and that she stayed in Thailand for two weeks before receiving the illicit drug consignment at the airport for delivery in Nigeria.
In a related operation, NDLEA officials also intercepted a massive shipment of opioids imported from India through the Lagos airport cargo section.
The agency disclosed that 29 large cartons containing 1,825,710 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, estimated to be worth over N2.1 billion, were seized after a joint operation involving the Nigeria Customs Service. The illicit consignment arrived aboard an Emirates Cargo flight from India and was handed over to NDLEA officials on May 22 after extensive surveillance.
At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, operatives arrested one Onyeka Valentine Emeka during passenger clearance for an Ethiopian Airlines flight arriving from Sierra Leone through Addis Ababa. NDLEA said the suspect was placed under observation and later excreted 185.36 grams of cocaine.
Similarly, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, a 29-year-old building engineer, Babatunde Prosper Afekhide, was arrested while attempting to board a flight to Milan, Italy, via Addis Ababa.
A search of his luggage reportedly uncovered 10,280 pills of controlled opioids, including Tramaking, Tramadol and Tapentadol, concealed in foil paper and hidden inside a carton in a suitcase.
The agency also intercepted illicit drug consignments at a Lagos-based courier company, including 1,174 MDMA pills concealed in bicycle luggage parts bound for the Netherlands, tramadol hidden inside soap containers heading to the United States, and additional opioid tablets concealed in body cream containers destined for the United Kingdom.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives raided the Igwe community in Owan East Local Government Area, recovering 59 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 489 kilograms alongside cannabis seeds weighing 9 kilograms.
Another suspect, identified as Isah Sani, was arrested along the Zaria-Kano road in Kano State with 196,000 pills of Exol-5, while officers at the Seme border area of Lagos recovered 59 kilograms of skunk from a warehouse in Badagry.
In Ekiti State, operatives raided a warehouse in Ikole-Ekiti and recovered 1,116 kilograms of skunk. A 54-year-old suspect, Ogundana Adebayo Julius, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
The NDLEA said it also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign in schools and communities across several states, including Oyo, Anambra, Katsina, Lagos, Enugu, Ekiti and Kano.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the various operations and urged commands nationwide to sustain efforts aimed at reducing drug trafficking and abuse across the country.
