A 63-year-old Chinese grandma, Ting Hung Kiong, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in an attempt to smuggle a large consignment of illicit drug, Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis into Nigeria.
As contained in a press release on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi the Chinese grandma, a naturalised Malaysian, was arrested on Sunday, 17 May, 2026.
Arrest Of 63-year-old Chinese Grandma
She was caught by NDLEA operatives upon her arrival in Nigeria from Thailand via Dubai, UAE, aboard an Emirates Airline flight.
The Chinese grandma was intercepted at the Terminal 2 Arrival Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
Investigation revealed that the suspect travelled from Malaysia to Thailand and subsequently to Nigeria, via the UAE, with two large travel boxes containing the synthetic cannabis consignment weighing 31.0 kilograms.
During an interview, the 63-year-old Chinese grandma claimed she was working as a caregiver in Malaysia, stating 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.
Meanwhile, another major shipment of illicit drug consignment has been recovered at the import shed of the Lagos Airport.
“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 ₦2,190,852,000, were eventually handed over to the NDLEA by the Customs Service on Friday, 22 May, 2026,” it was stated in the release.
In another successful interdiction operation, NDLEA operatives at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, last Wednesday, intercepted a suspect, Onyeka Valentine Emeka.
He was caught during the inward clearance of passengers on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sierra Leone via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
When placed under observation, the suspected Emeka reportedly excreted a total of 185.36 grams of cocaine.
At the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, a 29-year-old building engineer, Babatunde Prosper Afekhide, was, last Wednesday, arrested by NDLEA operatives.
He was arrested while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Abuja, via Addis Ababa, to Milan Malpensa, Italy.
“A search conducted on his luggage led to the recovery of 10,280 pills of Tramaking 225mg; Tramadol 200mg and Tapentadol 250mg.
“The opioids were concealed using foil paper and hidden inside a carton, in a suitcase, obviously to evade detection,” it was revealed.
NDLEA operatives, in another operation at a courier company in Lagos, intercepted 1,174 pills of MDMA (Ecstasy) concealed in bicycle luggage carrier heading to Netherlands.
Also intercepted were 66 pills of tramadol 225mg hidden in a soap container, going to the United States and 18 tablets of tramadol 225mg concealed in body cream container heading to the United Kingdom.
In Edo State, NDLEA operatives, acting on intelligence raided Igwe Community in Owan East LGA where a total of 59 jumbo bags of skunk weighing 489kg and cannabis seeds weighing 9kg were recovered.
A suspect Isah Sani (30), was nabbed with 196,000 pills of exol-5, last Wednesday, along Zaria/Kano Road, Kano State.
Similarly, NDLEA officers at Seme border, Badagry area of Lagos State, recovered 59kg skunk from a warehouse in Mowo, Badagry, last Tuesday.
Another operational success was recorded in Ekiti State, last Saturday, as NDLEA operatives raided a warehouse located at N/56, Ikoyi Community, Ikole-Ekiti and recovered 1,116 kilograms of skunk.
A suspect, 54-year-old Ogundana Adebayo Julius, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
NDLEA commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.
These include WADA enlightenment lecture to students and staff of Command Day School, Mokola, Ibadan, Oyo state; Girls Secondary School, Amenyi, Anambra; Matazu Model Primary School, Matazu LGA, Katsina;
C&S Primary School, Majidun, Ikorodu, Lagos; Alufo High School, Apugo, Enugu; Aramoko District Commercial Secondary School, Aramoko Ekiti; and Government Girls Secondary School, Kurna, Kano State, among others.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), has commended the officers and men of MMIA, NAIA, AIIA, Edo, Ekiti, Seme, and Kano commands as well as those of DOGI for the arrests and seizures.
Noting that their drug supply reduction efforts balanced with WADA sensitisation activities, he charged them and their compatriots across the country to continue to raise the operational bar.
