NDLEA Arrests 24-Year-Old Thai Lady With Cannabis at Lagos Airport
A 24-year-old Thai woman, Ms. Pattaphi Wimonnat, was apprehended by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, Nigeria, after attempting to smuggle 43 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 46.6 kilograms. The illicit drugs were discovered concealed in her luggage.
The suspect, who was traveling on Qatar Airways from Thailand via Doha, Qatar, was arrested on Thursday, February 20, 2025, during routine screening of passengers at the arrival hall of Terminal 2 of the Lagos Airport. During questioning, she admitted to being hired by a drug cartel to traffic the drugs and revealed that she was promised a reward of $3,000 upon the successful delivery of the contraband in Nigeria.
In another successful operation, NDLEA officers on Friday, February 21, foiled an attempt to ship 68 parcels of Ghanaian Loud, weighing 42.2 kilograms, concealed within the walls of crated cartons at the export shed of Lagos Airport. The traffickers, including a freight agent and two dispatch riders, were arrested, and the mastermind, Samuel Bitris, was traced and apprehended at his residence in Exodus Estate, Ajah, Lagos.
Additionally, on Thursday, February 20, NDLEA officers intercepted 49,000 tramadol pills (Tamol, 225mg) in a 40ft container at the Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers State, during a joint examination with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
In Nasarawa State, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Bello Adamu (40) and Pius Azuka (42), on Saturday, February 22, with 517 kilograms of skunk. The following day, two other suspects, Usman Ruwa (43) and Yunusa Haruna (45), were arrested in a Toyota Corolla car containing 62.7 kilograms of skunk along Sabon Asibiti road in Kontagora, Niger State.
The NDLEA also continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiatives with sensitization activities in schools, places of worship, workplaces, and communities across the country. Recent WADA lectures took place 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.
In response to these operations, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), Chairman/CEO of NDLEA, commended the agency’s officers for their successful arrests and seizures. He emphasized that the agency’s balanced approach to reducing both drug supply and demand was highly valued in the fight against drug abuse in Nigeria.
