NDLEA cracks down! Thai woman, UK drug cartel fall in explosive Airport raid
Ms. Pattaphi Wimonnat
Published By: Kazeem Ugbodaga
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
In a daring operation at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intercepted a 24-year-old Thai woman, Ms. Pattaphi Wimonnat, attempting to smuggle a massive drug haul into Nigeria.
The suspect, caught red-handed on Thursday, 20th February 2025, had 43 parcels of Canadian Loud—a potent synthetic strain of cannabis—hidden in her luggage.
Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s spokesman, in a statement on Sunday said the illegal consignment, weighing a staggering 46.60 kilogrammes, was uncovered during passenger clearance for a Qatar Airways flight from Thailand via Doha.
Wimonnat, who confessed to being a hired courier, revealed she had been promised $3,000 by an international drug cartel upon successful delivery of the consignment.
But her mission came to a crushing end as NDLEA operatives foiled the smuggling attempt, dealing a major blow to drug syndicates targeting Nigeria.
According to Babafemi, the agency didn’t stop there, saying that barely 24 hours later, NDLEA officers at the Lagos airport’s export shed smashed another major drug trafficking ring, preventing the shipment of 68 parcels of Ghanaian Loud, weighing 42.2 kilogrammes, to London.
He said the contraband had been meticulously concealed in the walls of crated cartons, but vigilant officers unraveled the ruse.
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Babafemi disclosed that initial arrests included a freight agent and two dispatch riders, but the dragnet swiftly extended to the mastermind, Samuel Bitris, who was tracked and arrested at his residence in Exodus Estate, Ajah, Lagos.
Meanwhile, at the Port Harcourt Port Complex, Rivers State, NDLEA operatives uncovered a cache of 49,000 pills of tramadol (Tamol 225mg) hidden in a 40-foot container.
The illicit shipment was intercepted on Thursday, 20th February, during a joint operation with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.
The crackdown intensified across the country. In Nasarawa State, on Saturday, 22nd February, NDLEA officers arrested two traffickers, Bello Adamu, 40, and Pius Azuka, 42, in Kokona/Keffi with 517 kilogrammes of skunk.
Similarly, in Niger State, another drug bust saw Usman Ruwa, 43, and Yunusa Haruna, 45, apprehended in a Toyota Corolla loaded with 62.7 kilogrammes of skunk along Sabon Asibiti Road, Kontagora, on Thursday, 20th February.
Commending the officers for their relentless efforts, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), hailed their commitment to both drug supply reduction and preventive advocacy. “
Our officers are delivering results on all fronts, and we will not relent in dismantling drug syndicates operating within and beyond our borders,” he affirmed.
