A 41-year-old Canadian woman, Adrienne Munju, who was arrested at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, with 35.20 kilograms of substance suspected to be synthetic cannabis, has stated the reason for her involvement in the criminal endeavour.
This was contained in a statement by the spokesman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency [NDLEA], Femi Babafemi, on the latest activities of the agency.
The agency said its operatives discovered the substance, known as ‘Canadian Loud,’ concealed in two of her three suitcases during a routine search.
Munju was flying in from Canada aboard a KLM flight and was intercepted during the passenger clearance process.
This was, however, Munju’s first visit to Nigeria, and she admitted to trafficking the drugs for $10,000 to help fund her Master’s Degree programme.
She revealed that the offer came through an online platform, and she accepted due to financial struggles.
In another operation, NDLEA officers in Rivers State intercepted a massive shipment of opioids, totaling over 13 million pills of various drugs, including Tramadol, valued at over N9 billion.
The haul was discovered in containers arriving from India.
The agency also seized 338,253 bottles of codeine-based syrup during the inspection at Port Harcourt Ports.
Similarly, at Tincan Seaport in Lagos, 100 parcels of Canadian Loud, weighing 50kg, were intercepted in a container of imported vehicles.
The drugs were concealed in a Toyota Sienna bus, leading to the arrest of a suspect, Abubakar Shuaibu Ibrahim.
Further NDLEA operations in Taraba led to the arrest of two suspects traveling from Onitsha to Jalingo.
Moreover, NDLEA authorities uncovered a large stash of opioids hidden in the body compartments of their commercial bus.
In Wukari, another suspect was arrested with 38kg of cannabis hidden in bags of garri.
In Lagos, NDLEA officers arrested Bolanle Ajenifuja for possessing 700 liters of skuchies, a dangerous cocktail of local chapman and illicit drugs.
Three more suspects were arrested on a cannabis farm straddling Edo and Ondo states, where nearly 10,000kg of cannabis was destroyed over three hectares of land.
In addition to these arrests, NDLEA continued its educational outreach through the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative, spreading awareness in schools and communities nationwide.
Also, the agency’s officers have been actively engaging students and educators in places like Musawa in Katsina and Abakaliki in Ebonyi, promoting drug-free environments.
Chairman of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised the agency’s officers for their diligent efforts in curbing drug trafficking.
He acknowledged their commitment to both reducing drug supply and increasing public awareness through WADA programmes.
