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A 41-year-old Canadian national, Adrienne Munju, has been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. She was caught smuggling a large quantity of a potent synthetic cannabis strain known as ‘Canadian Loud’ into the country.
The arrest occurred on October 3, 2024, during a routine inspection of passengers arriving on a KLM flight from Canada. According to the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, a search of Munju’s luggage revealed 74 parcels of the illicit drug, weighing a total of 35.20 kilograms, hidden inside two of her three bags. This was her first visit to Nigeria.
In her statement, Munju confessed to being recruited online to transport the drugs in exchange for 10,000 Canadian dollars. She explained that she accepted the offer to help fund her ongoing master’s degree studies in Canada.
Babafemi further disclosed that 13,298,000 opioid pills, including various brands such as Tramadol, Tramaking Quick Action Tramadol, Tamol-X, Royal Tapentadol, and Carisoprodol, alongside 338,253 bottles of codeine-based syrup, were recovered at the Onne Port in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The drugs, valued at over N9 billion, were discovered in three containers shipped from India during a thorough examination conducted with customs officials and other port authorities on October 2 and 3, 2024.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives at Lagos’ Tincan seaport intercepted 100 parcels of Canadian Loud, weighing 50kg, on October 3. The drugs were concealed in five large bags packed in a container, along with four imported vehicles from Canada. The NDLEA tracked the container to a warehouse in Ikorodu, where the drugs were hidden in one of the vehicles—a Toyota Sienna. A suspect, Abubakar Shuaibu Ibrahim, was arrested in connection with the find.
Meanwhile, in Taraba State, NDLEA agents stopped a commercial bus traveling from Onitsha to Jalingo on October 3, recovering 80 blocks of cannabis, weighing 38kg, concealed in bags of garri. Large quantities of opioids such as Tramadol, Rohypnol, and codeine syrup were also found in hidden compartments of the vehicle. Two suspects, Pako Thomas and Emmanuel Anyigor, were detained, while another, Chibuzor Okafor, was apprehended in Wukari on October 2, also with 80 blocks of cannabis.
In another operation, NDLEA agents arrested Bolanle Ajenifuja in Lagos’ Ojo area on October 4, recovering 700 liters of “skuchies”—a mix of local chapman and various illicit drugs. Three other individuals, Ezekiel Akpele, Elijah Michael, and Goddard John, were also arrested in connection with the case.
The agency also reported a successful raid on two cannabis farms at Bridge Camp, a boundary community between Edo and Ondo states. NDLEA operatives destroyed over three hectares of farmland, seizing 9,966kg of cannabis along with 48kg of processed psychoactive substances during the operation.
