The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a 63-year-old Chinese national, Ting Hung Kiong, at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport for allegedly smuggling 31kg of synthetic cannabis into Nigeria. The suspect, who holds Malaysian citizenship, was intercepted on 17 May 2026 in the Terminal 2 arrival hall after arriving from Thailand via Dubai. Officers found the drugs concealed in two large suitcases. During questioning, she said she was given the consignment in Thailand and claimed her daughter funded the trip, adding that she works as a caregiver in Malaysia.
In a separate operation, NDLEA recovered 1.8 million tablets of Tapentadol 250mg valued at N2.19 billion from a cargo shipment that arrived from India on an Emirates flight. The 29 cartons were handed over by Customs on 22 May after days of monitoring. At Enugu’s Akanu Ibiam Airport, officers arrested Onyeka Valentine Emeka on 20 May after he excreted 185.36g of cocaine following a flight from Sierra Leone. In Abuja, a 29-year-old building engineer, Babatunde Prosper Afekhide, was caught on 21 May with over 10,000 opioid pills hidden in his luggage while trying to board a flight to Italy.
The agency also intercepted illicit drugs at a Lagos courier firm, including ecstasy and tramadol parcels destined for Europe and the US, and carried out raids in Edo, Ekiti, Kano, and Lagos states that led to the seizure of hundreds of kilograms of skunk and the arrest of several suspects. NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa praised the commands for the arrests and seizures, urging officers to sustain both enforcement actions and public sensitization under the War Against Drug Abuse campaign.
