Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a 24-year-old Thai woman, Ms. Pattaphi Wimonnat, attempting to smuggle 46.60 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a potent synthetic strain of cannabis, into Nigeria.

The arrest took place on Thursday, February 20, 2025, at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, during the inward clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight from Thailand via Doha. NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi confirmed that the illicit consignment, comprising 43 parcels of cannabis, was concealed inside the suspect’s luggage.

Upon interrogation, Ms. Wimonnat confessed that she was a hired courier for a drug trafficking syndicate, which promised to pay her $3,000 upon successful delivery of the drugs in Nigeria.

In a separate operation on Friday, February 21, NDLEA officers foiled another drug smuggling attempt at the Lagos airport. A syndicate was caught trying to ship 68 parcels of Ghanaian Loud, weighing 42.2kg, to London, UK. The drugs were hidden inside the walls of crated cartons at the airport’s export shed.

Authorities arrested three suspects, including a freight agent and two dispatch riders, before tracking down the mastermind, Samuel Bitris, at his Exodus Estate residence in Ajah, Lagos.

The NDLEA has intensified efforts to combat drug trafficking networks operating through Nigerian airports and broader.