The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have thwarted an attempt by a 24-year-old Thai lady, Pattaphi Wimonnat, to smuggle 43 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 46.60 kilograms into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in the Ikeja area of Lagos State.
The NDLEA officers arrested the Thai lady after discovering the illicit consignment in her boxes.
The suspect who confessed to being a hired drug trafficker was arrested 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 on Thursday, February 20, 2025.
She said the drug cartel which recruited her promised to pay her $3,000 upon successful delivery of the illicit drug consignment in Nigeria.
The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this via a statement on Sunday, February 23.
Babafemi said another bid by a drug trafficking syndicate to ship 68 parcels of Ghanaian Loud with a total weight of 42.2kg concealed in walls of crated cartons to London in the United Kingdom (UK) through the export shed of the Lagos airport was also frustrated by NDLEA officers on Friday, February 21.
Babafemi noted that 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 residence at Exodus Estate in the Ajah area of Lagos where he was arrested.
VIDEO: NDLEA intercepts drugs hidden in bus bumper
He added that the NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, 40-year-old Bello Adamu and 42-year-old Pius Azuka, at Kokona/Keffi in Nasarawa State with 517kg of skunk on Saturday, February 22.
The NDLEA spokesman disclosed that two suspects – Usman Ruwa, 43, and Yunusa Haruna, 45 – were apprehended in a Toyota Corolla car conveying 62.7 kilograms of skunk along Sabon Asibiti Road in Kontagora, Niger State, on Thursday February 20.
Commending the anti-narcotic officers for the arrests and seizures, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), stated that their operational successes, especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts, were well appreciated.
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