Anti-narcotics operatives have arrested a dual Chinese-Malaysian citizen and intercepted a multi-billion-naira drug shipment in a sweeping series of operations across Nigeria’s airports, highways, and states.
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Chinese National Caught With Cannabis
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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested 63-year-old Ting Hung Kiong on May 17 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos after she arrived on an Emirates flight from Thailand via Dubai carrying 31 kilograms of Canadian Loud a highly potent synthetic cannabis strain packed inside two large travel boxes.
During questioning, Kiong, who described herself as a caregiver based in Malaysia, told investigators that her daughter funded her trip from Malaysia to Thailand, where she spent two weeks before an unnamed contact handed her the drugs for delivery in Nigeria.
Billions in Tapentadol Seized
In a separate operation at the Lagos airport’s import shed, NDLEA officers seized a staggering 1,825,710 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, valued at an estimated N2.19 billion. The consignment, which originated from India via Emirates Cargo, was handed over by the Nigeria Customs Service on May 22 following a joint monitoring operation.
Airport Arrests Continue
On May 20, operatives at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu arrested Onyeka Emeka, a passenger arriving from Sierra Leone via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. He later excreted 185.36 grams of cocaine he had swallowed.
A day later at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, 29-year-old building engineer Babatunde Afekhide was nabbed while attempting to board a Milan-bound flight. Searches of his luggage uncovered 10,280 pills of Tramadol and Tapentadol carefully concealed in foil paper.
Drug Parcels Intercepted at Courier Services
NDLEA operatives in Lagos also busted several drug parcels at courier outlets destined for Europe and the US, recovering 1,174 Ecstasy (MDMA) pills hidden in a bicycle luggage carrier bound for the Netherlands, 66 Tramadol pills concealed inside soap heading to the US, and 18 Tramadol tablets stuffed inside body cream en route to the UK.
Domestic Raids Yield Massive Hauls
On the home front, a raid in the Igwe community of Owan East Local Government Area in Edo State netted 489kg of skunk cannabis and 9kg of cannabis seeds. A warehouse raid in Ikole-Ekiti, Ekiti State, on May 23 yielded 1,116kg of skunk and led to the arrest of 54-year-old Ogundana Adebayo Julius.
Elsewhere, Isah Sani was arrested along the Zaria-Kano road with 196,000 Exol-5 pills, while a separate operation in Badagry, Lagos State recovered 59kg of skunk from a warehouse.
NDLEA Chairman Buba Marwa commended officers across the Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Edo, Ekiti, Seme, and Kano commands for their intelligence-driven operations, urging them to sustain the momentum in the country’s ongoing fight against drug trafficking.
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