A 41-year-old Canadian woman, Adrienne Munju, has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, for smuggling 35.20 kilograms of synthetic cannabis.
Munju was apprehended on October 3, 2024, during the inward clearance of passengers arriving on a KLM flight from Canada. The illicit substance, concealed in two of her three bags, was packed in 74 parcels.
The arrest was detailed in a statement by NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, and published on the agnecy’s website on Sunday.
“A 41-year-old Canadian lady Adrienne Munju has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja Lagos for importing large consignment of ‘Canadian Loud’, a strong strain of synthetic cannabis,” the statement read in part.
It added, “During a joint examination of her three bags, Adrienne who was coming to Nigeria for the first time was found with 74 parcels of the illicit substance weighing 35.20 kilograms stuffed in two of her three bags.”
The statement further revealed that the woman confessed that she was recruited online and promised CAD 10,000 for successfully trafficking the consignment to Lagos, which she intended to use for her master’s degree tuition.
The statement further noted that NDLEA operatives at the Port Harcourt Ports, Onne, Rivers State, intercepted 13,298,000 opioid pills, including Tramadol, Tramaking Quick Action Tramadol, Tamol-X, Royal Tapentadol, and Carisoprodol, along with 338,253 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup, worth over N9.01 billion.
The substances were recovered from three containers arriving from India during a joint examination with Nigerian Customs and port stakeholders on October 2nd and 3rd, 2024.
Similarly, on October 3rd, NDLEA operatives at the Tincan seaport in Lagos intercepted 100 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 50kg. Concealed in a container with imported vehicles from Canada, the drugs were traced to a warehouse in Ikorodu.
In Taraba, NDLEA officers intercepted a commercial bus from Onitsha to Jalingo on October 3rd, recovering opioids like tramadol, rohypnol, and codeine-based syrup hidden in the vehicle.
Two suspects, Pako Thomas and Emmanuel Anyigor, were arrested, while another suspect, Chibuzor Okafor, was apprehended on October 2nd in Wukari with 38kg of cannabis concealed in garri bags.
In Lagos, Bolanle Ajenifuja was arrested on October 4th with 700 liters of skuchies, a cocktail of illicit drugs, while three suspects, Ezekiel Akpele, Elijah Michael, and Goddard John, were arrested for operating cannabis farms in a boundary community between Edo and Ondo States. Approximately 9,966 kg of cannabis was destroyed across three hectares.