The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has uncovered a wide drug trafficking network across Nigeria, leading to multiple arrests and large-scale seizures of illicit substances in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Edo, Ekiti and other parts of the country.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, operatives arrested a 63-year-old woman, Ting Hung Kiong, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 31 kilograms of synthetic cannabis into Nigeria. She was intercepted on Sunday, May 17, 2026, shortly after arriving from Thailand via Dubai on an Emirates flight.
Investigations showed that she travelled from Malaysia to Thailand before heading to Nigeria through the United Arab Emirates. She was found with two suitcases containing the suspected drugs. During questioning, she reportedly said she works as a caregiver in Malaysia and claimed her daughter sponsored her trip, adding that she spent two weeks in Thailand before collecting the luggage.
In another operation at the same airport, NDLEA officers intercepted over 1.8 million tablets of Tapentadol 250mg valued at more than N2.19 billion. The shipment arrived from India on an Emirates cargo flight and had been tracked before being handed over by customs authorities.
At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, a passenger, Onyeka Valentine Emeka, was arrested after arriving from Sierra Leone via Ethiopia. He was later found to have excreted 185.36 grams of cocaine while under observation.
In Abuja, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, a 29-year-old engineer, Babatunde Prosper Afekhide, was arrested while attempting to board a flight to Milan, Italy. A search of his luggage allegedly revealed thousands of tablets of Tramadol and Tapentadol hidden inside a carton.
NDLEA operatives also intercepted drug consignments hidden in courier packages, including MDMA concealed in bicycle parts bound for the Netherlands, Tramadol hidden in a soap container headed to the United States, and additional pills hidden in body cream containers destined for the United Kingdom.
In Edo State, a raid in the Igwe community, Owan East Local Government Area, led to the recovery of 59 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 489 kilograms and cannabis seeds. In Ekiti State, operatives also seized 1,116 kilograms of skunk from a warehouse in Ikole-Ekiti and arrested a suspect linked to the operation.
Along the Zaria–Kano road, officers arrested a 30-year-old suspect with 196,000 pills of Exol-5, while at the Seme border in Badagry, another 59 kilograms of skunk were recovered from a warehouse in Mowo.
The agency also continued its War Against Drug Abuse campaign across schools, worship centres, and communities in several states, including Oyo, Anambra, Katsina, Lagos and Kano.
NDLEA Chairman, Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the operations nationwide, praising their efforts in both drug seizures and ongoing sensitisation campaigns, and urged them to sustain the momentum.