Chinese Woman Nabbed At Lagos Airport Over Alleged Drug Trafficking

Chinese Woman Nabbed At Lagos Airport Over Alleged Drug Trafficking
N2.19bn Opioid Shipment Intercepted
Raids Warehouses, Recovers Over 1,000kg Of Skunk In Ekiti

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 63-year-old Chinese woman, Ting Hung Kiong, for allegedly attempting to smuggle a large quantity of synthetic cannabis popularly known as Canadian Loud into Nigeria.

Contents

EDITOR’S PICK
FURTHER READING

Eko Hot Blog reports that the suspect, a Chinese national who reportedly became a naturalised citizen of Malaysia, was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, after arriving from Thailand through Dubai on an Emirates Airline flight.

EDITOR’S PICK

NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed in a statement on Sunday that the suspect was intercepted at the Terminal 2 arrival hall during routine checks by operatives.

According to the agency, two large travel boxes belonging to the suspect were searched, leading to the recovery of 31 kilograms of the synthetic cannabis.

Investigations revealed that the suspect travelled from Malaysia to Thailand before proceeding to Nigeria through the United Arab Emirates.

During interrogation, Ting reportedly told investigators that she works as a caregiver in Malaysia and claimed that her daughter sponsored the trip.

“She disclosed that she spent two weeks in Thailand before she was handed the illicit consignment at the Thailand airport to deliver in Nigeria,” Babafemi stated.

In another major operation, NDLEA operatives also intercepted a consignment of 1,825,710 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg valued at about N2.19 billion at the import shed of the Lagos airport.

Chinese Woman Nabbed At Lagos Airport Over Alleged Drug Trafficking — Chinese Woman Nabbed At Lagos Airport

The opioid shipment, which arrived from India aboard an Emirates cargo flight, was later handed over to the NDLEA by the Nigeria Customs Service after surveillance operations.

The anti-narcotics agency also recorded arrests at other airports across the country.

At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, operatives arrested a suspect identified as Onyeka Valentine Emeka during passenger clearance on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sierra Leone via Addis Ababa. The suspect later excreted 185.36 grams of cocaine after being placed under observation.

Similarly, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, a 29-year-old building engineer, Babatunde Prosper Afekhide, was arrested while attempting to board a flight to Milan, Italy. NDLEA said 10,280 pills of Tramadol and Tapentadol were discovered hidden inside his luggage.

The agency also intercepted several illicit drug consignments at courier companies in Lagos, including MDMA pills concealed inside bicycle luggage carriers destined for the Netherlands, Tramadol hidden in soap containers bound for the United States, and other drugs concealed in body cream containers heading to the United Kingdom.

In Edo State, operatives raided Igwe community in Owan East Local Government Area where they recovered 489 kilograms of skunk and 9 kilograms of cannabis seeds.

In Kano State, a suspect identified as Isah Sani was arrested along the Zaria-Kano road with 196,000 pills of Exol-5, while another operation at the Seme border area of Lagos led to the recovery of 59 kilograms of skunk from a warehouse in Badagry.

Meanwhile, in Ekiti State, NDLEA operatives raided a warehouse in Ikole-Ekiti where they recovered 1,116 kilograms of skunk and arrested a 54-year-old suspect, Ogundana Adebayo Julius.

The agency said it also intensified its War Against Drug Abuse awareness campaigns in schools, religious centres and communities across the country.

NDLEA Chairman, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain the crackdown on drug trafficking and abuse nationwide.