The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the arrest of a Thai lady, Patthaphi Winmonat, 24, at the Terminal 2 Arrival Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, on February 20, 2025.
The banned substances were discovered by operatives of the agency in her boxes, after which she was arrested.
Femi Babafemi, the agency’s spokesperson, disclosed this in a statement made available to the public on Sunday.
He said the suspect was apprehended after the anti-narcotics agency discovered the illicit consignment in her boxes.
He said, “The suspect, who confessed to being a hired drug trafficker, was arrested on Thursday, February 20, 2025, during the inward clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight from Thailand via Doha, Qatar, at the arrival hall, Terminal 2 of the Lagos airport.
“She said the drug cartel that recruited her promised to pay her $3,000 upon successful delivery of the illicit drug consignment in Nigeria,” the statement read.
The agency’s spokesperson, Babafemi, also disclosed the interception of 68 parcels of ‘Ghanaian Loud,’ which weighed 42.2 kg and was packaged into crates for shipment to London through the export shed of the Lagos airport by the agency’s operatives on February 21, 2025.
Three suspects belonging to a syndicate were arrested by operatives of the agency. They include two dispatch riders, while the mastermind of the drug shipment, Samuel Bitris, was traced to his home at Exodus Estate, Ajah, Lagos, where he was arrested, according to the agency’s statement.
Similar successes were recorded by operatives of the agency at the Port Harcourt Port Complex, Onne, in Rivers State, where they intercepted cartons containing 49,000 pills of Tamol, a brand of Tramadol 225mg, in a 40-foot container during a joint examination of the shipment with personnel of the Customs Service and other security agencies.
Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), while reacting to the success, stated that their operational achievements, along with those of their compatriots across the country, especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts, are well appreciated.
