Abuja, Oct. 6, 2024 – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 41-year-old Canadian woman, Adrienne Munju, for smuggling 35.20 kilograms of synthetic cannabis at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA Spokesman, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
He said the woman was arrested during the inward clearance of passengers arriving on a KLM flight from Canada on Oct. 3, 2024.
The statement said the 74 parcels containing the drugs were found in two of her three bags.
“A 41-year-old Canadian lady Adrienne Munju has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos for importing large consignment of ‘Canadian Loud’, a strong strain of synthetic cannabis.
“During a joint examination of her three bags, Adrienne who was coming to Nigeria for the first time was found with 74 parcels of the illicit substance weighing 35.20 kilograms stuffed in two of her three bags.”
The woman confessed that she was recruited online and promised CAD 10,000 for successfully trafficking the consignment to Lagos.
The NDLEA also said its operatives at the Onne Port in Port Harcourt intercepted 13,298,000 opioid pills, including Tramadol, Tramaking Quick Action Tramadol, Tamol-X, Royal Tapentadol, and Carisoprodol, along with 338,253 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup worth over N9.01 billion.
The substances were recovered from three containers arriving from India during a joint examination with Nigerian Customs and port stakeholders on October 2nd and 3rd, 2024.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives at the Tincan seaport in Lagos intercepted 100 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 50kg at the Tincan Seaport in Lagos on Oct. 3, 2024.
It said the drugs were concealed in a container with imported vehicles from Canada. The drugs were traced to a warehouse in Ikorodu.
NDLEA officers in Taraba state intercepted a commercial bus from Onitsha to Jalingo on Oct. 3, 2024 from where it recovered opioids like tramadol, rohypnol, and codeine-based syrup hidden in the vehicle.
Two suspects, Pako Thomas and Emmanuel Anyigor, were arrested.
It said another suspect, Chibuzor Okafor, was apprehended on Oct. 2nd in Wukari with 38kg of cannabis concealed in garri bags.
Bolanle Ajenifuja was arrested with 700 liters of skuchies, a cocktail of illicit drugs In Lagos on Oct. 4, 2024.
The NDLEA said three suspects, Ezekiel Akpele, Elijah Michael, and Goddard John, were arrested for operating cannabis farms in a boundary community between Edo and Ondo states where approximately 9,966 kg of cannabis were destroyed. (GBN)