A 24-year-old Thai woman, Pattaphi Wimonnat, was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for attempting to smuggle 43 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain, weighing 46.60 kilograms into Nigeria.
She was caught after NDLEA officers discovered the drugs hidden in her luggage at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.
Wimonnat, who admitted to being a hired drug trafficker, was apprehended on Thursday, February 20, during passenger clearance from a Qatar Airways flight arriving from Thailand via Doha.
She revealed that a drug cartel had promised her $3,000 for successfully delivering the illegal drugs to Nigeria.
In a separate incident, NDLEA officers also foiled an attempt by a drug trafficking syndicate to send 68 parcels of Ghanaian Loud, weighing 42.2 kg, concealed in the walls of crated cartons to London, UK, from the Lagos airport’s export shed.
Three individuals, including a freight agent and two dispatch riders, were initially arrested. The mastermind, Samuel Bitris, was later tracked to his home in Exodus Estate, Ajah, Lagos, where he was arrested.
Additionally, at the Port Harcourt Port Complex in Onne, Rivers State, NDLEA officers seized 49 cartons containing 49,000 pills of tamol, a brand of tramadol 225mg, on February 20, during a joint inspection of the shipment with Customs Service and other security agencies.
In Nasarawa State on February 22, NDLEA agents arrested two suspects, Bello Adamu (40) and Pius Azuka (42), with 517 kg of skunk at Kokona/Keffi.
On February 20, two other suspects, Usman Ruwa (43) and Yunusa Haruna (45), were apprehended in a Toyota Corolla car carrying 62.7 kg of skunk along Sabon Asibiti road in Kontagora, Niger State.
The NDLEA has also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, conducting sensitization activities across the country, including lectures at schools, places of worship, workplaces, and communities.
Recent WADA lectures were held at Maku Grammar School in Oyo State, Comprehensive Secondary School in Imo State, Jama’atu Islamiyya Secondary School in Kogi State, and Owerri-Aba Primary School in Imo State.
NDLEA Chairman/CEO, Buba Marwa, commended the officers from the MMIA, PHPC, Niger, and Nasarawa Commands for their successful operations and for their balanced approach to drug supply and demand reduction efforts, which have been widely appreciated.
