NDLEA Arrests 63-Year-Old Chinese Woman With 31kg Cannabis at Lagos Airport, Seizes Billions Worth of Drugs Nationwide

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a 63-year-old Chinese woman, identified as Ting Hung Kiong, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 31 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

The suspect, said to have naturalised in Malaysia, was apprehended on May 17, 2026, after arriving in Lagos from Thailand via Dubai aboard an Emirates Airline flight.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, operatives attached to the Terminal 2 Arrival Hall intercepted the suspect after discovering two large suitcases containing the illicit substance.

During interrogation, the suspect reportedly claimed she works as a caregiver in Malaysia and disclosed that her daughter sponsored her trip from Malaysia to Thailand before she was allegedly handed the drug consignment at the Thailand airport for delivery in Nigeria.

In another major breakthrough, the anti-narcotics agency intercepted a massive shipment of opioids at the Lagos airport import shed.

The NDLEA revealed that 29 cartons containing 1,825,710 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg valued at over N2.19bn were tracked after arriving from India aboard an Emirates Cargo flight before eventually being handed over by the Nigeria Customs Service on May 22, 2026.

At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, NDLEA operatives also arrested a suspect, Onyeka Valentine Emeka, during the inward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sierra Leone via Addis Ababa. The agency said the suspect later excreted 185.36 grams of cocaine while under observation.

Similarly, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, 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 led to the recovery of 10,280 pills of Tramadol, Tramaking and Tapentadol concealed with foil paper inside a carton hidden in his suitcase.

The agency further disclosed that operatives at a Lagos courier company intercepted 1,174 pills of MDMA concealed in bicycle luggage carriers heading to the Netherlands, alongside tramadol tablets hidden in soap and body cream containers destined for the United States and 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 489kg and 9kg of cannabis seeds.

The agency also confirmed the arrest of a 30-year-old suspect, Isah Sani, with 196,000 pills of Exol-5 along the Zaria-Kano road in Kano State, while operatives at the Seme border in Badagry recovered 59kg of skunk from a warehouse in Mowo.

In Ekiti State, operatives stormed a warehouse in Ikole-Ekiti and recovered 1,116kg of skunk, arresting a 54-year-old suspect, Ogundana Adebayo Julius.

The NDLEA said its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign continues across schools, religious centres and communities nationwide.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain the agency’s anti-drug enforcement and public sensitisation efforts.