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 a large quantity of Canadian Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The agency disclosed that the suspect, a Chinese national who reportedly obtained Malaysian citizenship, was arrested on Sunday, May 17, 2026, shortly after arriving in Nigeria from Thailand via Dubai aboard an Emirates Airline flight.
According to the NDLEA, the suspect was intercepted by operatives attached to the Terminal 2 Arrival Hall of the Lagos airport during routine screening and surveillance operations.
Investigations later revealed that Ting had travelled from Malaysia to Thailand before continuing her journey to Nigeria through the United Arab Emirates. Authorities said she arrived with two large travel boxes containing 31 kilograms of synthetic cannabis popularly known as Canadian Loud.
The illicit substance, regarded as a highly potent variant of cannabis, has become increasingly popular among drug traffickers due to its high street value and strong psychoactive effects.
During interrogation, the 63-year-old suspect reportedly claimed she worked as a caregiver in Malaysia and disclosed that her daughter financed her trip from Malaysia to Thailand and subsequently to Nigeria.
She further stated that she spent about two weeks in Thailand before she was allegedly handed the drug consignment at the airport for delivery in Nigeria.
The NDLEA said investigations into the trafficking network behind the operation were ongoing.
The arrest formed part of a series of major anti-narcotics operations carried out by the agency across airports, border communities, courier firms, and states within the country over the past week.
In another major breakthrough, NDLEA operatives recovered a massive shipment of illicit pharmaceutical opioids at the import shed of the Lagos airport.
The agency disclosed that the consignment, which arrived from India aboard an Emirates Cargo flight, had been under close surveillance by anti-drug operatives before it was eventually handed over by the Nigeria Customs Service on Friday, May 22, 2026.
The recovered shipment consisted of 29 large cartons containing 1,825,710 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, an opioid medication often abused for recreational purposes.
According to the NDLEA, the seized drugs were estimated to have a street value of over N2.19 billion.
The agency has repeatedly warned about the growing abuse of pharmaceutical opioids in Nigeria, noting that substances such as Tramadol and Tapentadol continue to fuel addiction, criminality, and public health concerns across the country.
In another operation at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, NDLEA officers arrested a suspect identified as Onyeka Valentine Emeka during the inward clearance of passengers arriving on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sierra Leone through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Officials said the suspect was placed under observation after exhibiting suspicious behaviour, following which he excreted 185.36 grams of cocaine.
At the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, another suspect identified as Babatunde Prosper Afekhide, a 29-year-old building engineer, was arrested while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Milan, Italy, via Addis Ababa.
According to the NDLEA, a search conducted on his luggage uncovered 10,280 pills of Tramaking 225mg, Tramadol 200mg, and Tapentadol 250mg.
The drugs were reportedly concealed inside cartons wrapped with foil paper and hidden within a suitcase in what officials described as an attempt to evade airport detection systems.
The agency also recorded another interception at a courier company in Lagos, where operatives uncovered 1,174 pills of MDMA, commonly known as Ecstasy, hidden inside bicycle luggage carriers destined for the Netherlands.
Additionally, officers recovered 66 pills of Tramadol 225mg concealed in a soap container heading to the United States and 18 tablets of Tramadol 225mg hidden inside a body cream container prepared for shipment to the United Kingdom.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence raided the Igwe community in Owan East Local Government Area, where they recovered 59 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 489 kilograms alongside cannabis seeds weighing 9 kilograms.
Similarly, along the Zaria-Kano road in Kano State, officers arrested a 30-year-old suspect, Isah Sani, with 196,000 pills of Exol-5.
At the Seme border area in Badagry, Lagos State, NDLEA operatives also recovered 59 kilograms of skunk from a warehouse in the Mowo area during another operation conducted on May 19.
In Ekiti State, anti-drug officers raided a warehouse located in Ikoyi community, Ikole-Ekiti, where they recovered a staggering 1,116 kilograms of skunk.
A 54-year-old suspect identified as Ogundana Adebayo Julius was arrested in connection with the seizure.
Beyond enforcement operations, the NDLEA said its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign continued across schools, religious centres, workplaces, and communities.
Some of the institutions visited during the week include Command Day School, Mokola in Ibadan, Girls Secondary School Amenyi in Anambra State, Matazu Model Primary School in Katsina State, C&S Primary School in Ikorodu, Lagos, Alufo High School in Enugu State, Aramoko District Commercial Secondary School in Ekiti State, and Government Girls Secondary School in Kano.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers across the MMIA, Abuja, Enugu, Edo, Ekiti, Kano, Seme, and Directorate of Operations and General Investigation commands for the successful operations.
Marwa praised the balance between drug supply reduction efforts and ongoing anti-drug sensitisation campaigns while urging officers nationwide to sustain the momentum in the fight against illicit drug trafficking and abuse.
