Chinese national arrested with 31kg of synthetic cannabis at Lagos airport

Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended a 63-year-old Chinese woman at Lagos airport for attempting to smuggle a significant quantity of "Canadian Loud," a synthetic strain of cannabis, into the country. The suspect, Ting Kiong, who is a naturalized Malaysian citizen, was intercepted upon her arrival from Thailand via Dubai on an Emirates Airline flight.

NDLEA operatives found Kiong with two large travel boxes containing 31.0 kilograms of the illicit substance. During questioning, Kiong stated she works as a carer in Malaysia and that her daughter financed her journey from Malaysia to Thailand and then to Nigeria. She admitted to receiving the drug consignment at the Thailand airport for delivery in Nigeria, having spent two weeks in the country prior to her arrest.

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During an interview, the 63-year-old suspect, who claims she works as a carer in Malaysia, stated that her daughter sponsored her trip from Malaysia to Thailand and subsequently to Nigeria. She further disclosed that she spent two weeks in Thailand before she was handed the illicit consignment at the Thailand airport to deliver in Nigeria.

In separate operations, the NDLEA also reported intercepting a major drug shipment at the Lagos airport import shed. This involved 29 large cartons containing 1,825,710 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, valued at over 2.1 billion naira (approximately $5.3 million USD). The consignment arrived from India aboard an Emirates Cargo flight and was handed over to the NDLEA by the Customs Service.

Further interdictions occurred at other airports. At Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, a suspect named Onyeka Valentine Emeka was arrested with 185.36 grams of cocaine excreted while under observation. Additionally, at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, a building engineer, Babatunde Prosper Afekhide, was arrested attempting to travel to Italy with 10,280 pills of tramadol and tapentadol concealed in his luggage. The NDLEA also intercepted MDMA (Ecstasy) and tramadol pills at a courier company in Lagos destined for the Netherlands, United States, and the United Kingdom.

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Following close monitoring of the consignment by NDLEA operatives since its arrival from India aboard an Emirates Cargo flight, the 29 large cartons containing 1,825,710 tablets of Tapentadol 250mg, worth N2,190,852,000, were eventually handed over to the NDLEA by the Customs Service on Friday, 22nd May 2026.