The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested 24-year-old Thai woman Ms. Pattaphi Wimonnat for attempting to smuggle 43 parcels of Canadian Loud
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested 24-year-old Thai woman Ms. Pattaphi Wimonnat for attempting to smuggle 43 parcels of Canadian Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain, weighing 46.60 kilograms into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos.
She confessed to being employed on Thursday, February 20, 2025, during the inbound clearance of Qatar Airways passengers from Thailand via Doha, Qatar, at terminal 2 at Lagos Airport’s arrival hall.
On Sunday, Femi Babafemi, Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, claimed she was arrested after agents found the illegal consignment in her boxes. She also confessed to the crime, Babafemi claimed.
According to the statement, she claimed that the drug cartel that had recruited her had offered to pay her $3,000 if the illegal drug shipment that she had delivered to Nigeria was successful.
On February 21, NDLEA detectives foiled another drug trafficking syndicate’s attempt to smuggle 68 boxes of Ghanaian Loud weighing 42.2kg to London, UK, through the Lagos airport’s export shed.
The statement read, “Three suspects, a freight agent and two dispatch riders were initially arrested in connection with the seizure before the mastermind of the shipment, Samuel Bitris, was swiftly traced to his Exodus Estate, Ajah, Lagos home where he was arrested.
“At the Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, Rivers state, NDLEA officers on Thursday 20th February intercepted 49 cartons containing 49,000 pills of tamol, a brand of tramadol 225mg in a 40ft container during a joint examination of the shipment with men of Customs Service and other security agencies.
“In Nasarawa state, NDLEA operatives on Saturday 22nd February arrested two suspects: Bello Adamu, 40, and Pius Azuka, 42 at Kokona/Keffi with 517kg of skunk, while two other suspects: Usman Ruwa, 43, and Yunusa Haruna, 45, were nabbed in a Toyota Corolla car conveying 62.7 kilograms of skunk along Sabon Asibiti road Kontagora, Niger state on Thursday 20th February.
“With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.
“These include: WADA sensitisation lecture to students and staff of Maku Grammar School, Tapa, Oyo state; Comprehensive Secondary School, Orogwe, Imo state; Jama’atu Islamiyya Secondary School, Ankpa, Kogi state; and Owerri-Aba Primary School, Ugwunagba, Imo state, among others.
“While commending the officers and men of MMIA, PHPC, Niger, and Nasarwa Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.”