Canadian Woman Arrested with Cannabis at Lagos Airport as NDLEA Seizes N9bn Worth of Opioids
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 41-year-old Canadian national, Adrienne Munju, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos, for attempting to smuggle a large consignment of synthetic cannabis, popularly known as ‘Canadian Loud’, into Nigeria.
The arrest took place on Thursday, 3rd October 2024, during the inward clearance of passengers from a KLM flight from Canada.
In a statement signed by Femi Babafemi, Director, Media & Advocacy at the NDLEA, the agency stated that Munju, who was visiting Nigeria for the first time, was caught with 74 parcels of the illicit drug weighing a total of 35.20 kilograms.
The packages were found hidden in two of her three bags during a joint examination by NDLEA operatives.
According to her statement, she had been recruited to traffic the drugs through an online platform in exchange for 10,000 Canadian dollars, which she intended to use to fund her ongoing master’s degree programme in Canada.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives in Rivers State made another significant drug bust at the Port Harcourt Ports in Onne.
According to the statement, a shipment of 13,298,000 opioid pills, including brands such as Tramadol, Tramaking Quick Action, Tamol-X, Royal Tapentadol, and Carisoprodol, was intercepted.
Additionally, the officers seized 338,253 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup.
The street value of the intercepted drugs is estimated at over N9 billion.
The illicit drugs were hidden in three containers originating from India and were discovered during a 100% joint examination conducted by NDLEA officers, Nigerian Customs, and other port stakeholders on 2nd and 3rd October 2024.
The Agency further disclosed that in Lagos, its officers at the Tincan seaport intercepted another shipment of 100 parcels of Canadian Loud, weighing 50kg.
The consignment, packed into 20 parcels in five jumbo bags, was concealed in a container alongside four imported vehicles from Canada.
Although the container had already left the ESS Libra Bonded Terminal in Ikorodu, NDLEA officers, acting on credible intelligence, traced it to a warehouse in Ikorodu.
The drugs were found hidden inside one of the imported vehicles, a Toyota Sienna, and a suspect, Abubakar Shuaibu Ibrahim, was arrested in connection with the seizure.
In Taraba State, NDLEA officers intercepted a commercial bus travelling from Onitsha to Jalingo on Thursday, 3rd October.
Large quantities of opioids, including Tramadol, Rohypnol, and codeine-based syrup, were found hidden in the vehicle’s compartments. Two suspects, Pako Thomas and Emmanuel Anyigor, were taken into custody.
Additionally, on 2nd October, another suspect, Chibuzor Okafor, was arrested in Wukari with 80 blocks of cannabis weighing 38kg concealed in bags of garri.
Meanwhile, in Lagos, a woman named Bolanle Ajenifuja was arrested on 4th October in the Afo-Media area of Ojo for being in possession of 700 litres of ‘skuchies’—a dangerous mixture of local chapman and illicit drugs.
On the same day, NDLEA operatives also raided two cannabis farms located at Bridge Camp, a boundary community between Edo and Ondo States.
The officers destroyed 9,966.332kg of cannabis spread across three hectares of farmland and recovered 48kg of processed cannabis. Three suspects, Ezekiel Akpele, Elijah Michael, and Goddard John, were arrested during the raid.
As part of its ongoing War Against Drug Abuse (WADA), the NDLEA conducted sensitisation activities at schools, worship centres, and workplaces across the country.
This included lectures to students and staff at Government Science Secondary School, Musawa, Katsina; Akanu Ibiam Memorial Seminary School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi; Community High School, Ile Ogbo, Osun; and Dominion Secondary School, Okon, Akwa Ibom.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended the officers for their diligence and success in intercepting the drugs.
He praised their balanced approach to reducing both drug supply and demand, ensuring the Agency’s continued operational success across the country.
