NDLEA busts illicit drug shipments, 24-year-old Thai national at Lagos airport

In an intensified war against hard drugs in Nigeria, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has arrested a 24-year-old Thai lady, Ms. Pattaphi Wimonnat, attempting to smuggle 43 parcels of Canadian Loud.

The Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis weighing 46.60 kilograms, was being imported into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

In a statement on Sunday, NDLEA’s Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said Wimonnat was arrested after operatives discovered the illicit consignment in her boxes.

Babafemi said the suspect confessed to being a hired drug trafficker.

According to the spokesperson, the suspect was arrested on Thursday, February 20, 2025, during the inward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways flight from Thailand via Doha, Qatar, at the arrival hall, Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport.

She confessed that the drug cartel, which recruited her promised to pay her $3,000 upon successful delivery of the illicit drug consignment in Nigeria.

NDLEA officers also foiled another attempt by a drug trafficking syndicate to ship 68 parcels of Ghanaian Loud, weighing 42.2kg, to London, UK, on Friday, February 21.

According to Babafemi, the illicit consignment was concealed in the walls of crated cartons at the export shed of the Lagos airport.

The statement reads: “Three suspects: a freight agent and two dispatch riders were initially arrested in connection with the seizure before the mastermind of the shipment, Samuel Bitris, was swiftly traced to his Exodus Estate, Ajah, Lagos home where he was arrested.

“At the Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers state, NDLEA officers on Thursday 20th February intercepted 49 cartons containing 49,000 pills of tamol, a brand of tramadol 225mg in a 40ft container during a joint examination of the shipment with men of Customs Service and other security agencies.

“In Nasarawa state, NDLEA operatives on Saturday 22nd February arrested two suspects: Bello Adamu, 40, and Pius Azuka, 42 at Kokona/Keffi with 517kg of skunk, while two other suspects: Usman Ruwa, 43, and Yunusa Haruna, 45, were nabbed in a Toyota Corolla car conveying 62.7 kilograms of skunk along Sabon Asibiti road Kontagora, Niger state on Thursday February 20.

“With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.

“These include: WADA sensitisation lecture to students and staff of Maku Grammar School, Tapa, Oyo state; Comprehensive Secondary School, Orogwe, Imo state; Jama’atu Islamiyya Secondary School, Ankpa, Kogi state; and Owerri-Aba Primary School, Ugwunagba, Imo state, among others.

“While commending the officers and men of MMIA, PHPC, Niger, and Nasarwa Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.”

NDLEA seems to be firing from all cylinders recently.

Persecondnews had reported that the Agency on Thursday, January 16, arrested Esther Onyinyechi Uzodinma, a 26-year-old nursing student, with 76 wraps of cocaine while attempting to board a flight to India.

Uzodinma, a 200-level nursing student at Noida International University in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested at the Royal Park Hotel in Sabon Gari, Kano.

Esther’s plan was uncovered after NDLEA operatives on patrol on Okene -Lokoja highway intercepted a 31-year-old man, Cosmas Okorie, in a commuter bus travelling from Lagos to Kano on Thursday, January 16, 2025.

While searching Cosmas’ belongings, the operatives found an audio speaker hidden inside a black polythene bag, which was used to conceal 76 pellets of cocaine weighing 1.34 kilograms.

Okorie’s confession led to Esther’s arrest.

Also, the agency on Sunday February 16, said it intercepted parcels of illicit drugs hidden in a custom-built compartment of a commercial bus.

The ingenious compartment, cleverly crafted to avoid detection, had been utilized for the illicit transportation of prohibited substances across international boundaries.

In 2024, the agency achieved remarkable milestones, seizing over 2.6 million kilograms of illicit drugs nationwide.

It also apprehended more than 18,500 drug trafficking offenders, securing over 3,250 convictions, including 10 high-profile drug barons.

Furthermore, the NDLEA destroyed extensive cannabis farms spanning over 220 hectares, dealing a significant blow to illicit drug cultivation.

It also demonstrated its commitment to prevention and rehabilitation by counselling and rehabilitating over 8,200 individuals.

Additionally, it conducted more than 3,000 sensitization and advocacy programmes across various settings, including schools, markets, motor parks, worship centres, workplaces, and communities.