A 63-year-old Chinese national, Ting Hung Kiong, has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for attempting to smuggle a large consignment of synthetic cannabis into Nigeria.
The suspect, who reportedly naturalised in Malaysia, was apprehended on Sunday, 17 May 2026, on arrival from Thailand via Dubai aboard an Emirates Airlines flight.
She was intercepted by NDLEA officers at the Terminal 2 Arrival Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
It was said that Ting travelled from Malaysia to Thailand before proceeding to Nigeria through the United Arab Emirates (UAE), carrying two large travel boxes containing 31 kilogrammes of "Canadian Loud," a potent synthetic strain of cannabis.
During questioning, she claimed to work as a caregiver in Malaysia and alleged that her daughter sponsored the trip.
She said she spent two weeks in Thailand before receiving the illicit consignment at the airport there for onward delivery to Nigeria.
In a related operation at the Lagos airport import shed, NDLEA officers recovered shipment of opioids following days of surveillance.
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The consignment of 29 cartons containing 1,825,710 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, valued at N2.19 billion, arrived from India on an Emirates Cargo flight and was formally handed over by the Nigeria Customs Service on Friday, 22 May.
At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, officers intercepted Onyeka Valentine Emeka on Wednesday, 20 May, during the inward clearance of an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sierra Leone via Addis Ababa.
After being placed under observation, the suspect excreted 185.36 grammes of cocaine.
Also, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, a 29-year-old building engineer, Babatunde Prosper Afekhide, was arrested on Wednesday, 21 May, while attempting to board a flight to Milan via Addis Ababa.
A search of his luggage uncovered 10,280 pills of Tramaking 225mg, Tramadol 200mg and Tapentadol 250mg concealed with foil and hidden inside a carton within a suitcase.
Elsewhere in Lagos, NDLEA operatives at a courier company intercepted 1,174 pills of MDMA concealed in bicycle luggage destined for the Netherlands, 66 tramadol pills hidden in a soap container bound for the United States (US), and 18 tramadol tablets concealed in body cream en route to the United Kingdom (UK).
Beyond the airports, officers acting on intelligence raided Igwe community in Owan East Local Government Area (LGA) of Edo State, recovering 59 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 489kg, alongside 9kg of cannabis seeds.
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In Kano State, a 30-year-old suspect, Isah Sani, was arrested along the Zaria–Kano road with 196,000 pills of exol-5.
At the Seme border area of Badagry, Lagos, 59kg of skunk was recovered from a warehouse in Mowo on Tuesday, 19 May.
Another seizure was recorded in Ekiti State, where operatives raided a warehouse in Ikoyi community, Ikole-Ekiti, on Saturday, 23 May, recovering 1,116kg of skunk.
There, a 54-year-old suspect, Ogundana Adebayo Julius, was arrested in connection with the find.
Alongside enforcement, the agency said its commands continued nationwide sensitisation under the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, holding lectures and outreach programmes in schools and communities across Oyo, Anambra, Katsina, Lagos, Enugu, Ekiti and Kano states.
Commending the officers involved, NDLEA chairman and chief executive, Mohamed Buba Marwa, praised the balance between drug supply reduction and prevention efforts, urging personnel across the country to sustain and raise their operational standards.
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