The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 38-year-old South African woman at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 5.75 kilograms of heroin into Nigeria while using her three-year-old son as cover.
The suspect, identified as Will Jessica Ann, was arrested on Monday, July 6, during the clearance of passengers arriving on Qatar Airways flight QR1433 from Doha.
According to the NDLEA, the woman initially denied travelling with any checked-in luggage. However, operatives discovered that two suitcases containing 14 large blocks of heroin bore baggage tags matching the claim tags attached to her passport. She subsequently admitted ownership of the bags, claiming she had forgotten she checked them in.
The agency said intelligence reports indicate that the suspect travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja and is believed to be a member of a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating between Cambodia and South Africa alongside her husband or partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager.
In a separate operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, NDLEA operatives intercepted a 48-year-old commercial motorcycle rider, Onyechere Daniel Chinadu, after he arrived from Madagascar via Addis Ababa aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
A search of his checked-in backpack led to the recovery of 87 wraps of methamphetamine concealed among his belongings. During interrogation, the suspect confessed that he had worked as an Okada rider in the Oke-Afo area of Lagos for 15 years before being recruited into drug trafficking by a Uganda-based associate.
He further disclosed that he ingested additional pellets of methamphetamine in Uganda before travelling but was denied entry into Madagascar by immigration authorities. He was subsequently rerouted to Lagos, where he was arrested.
The suspect was placed under observation and, over three days, excreted 13 additional pellets, bringing the total seizure to 100 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 1.715 kilograms.
Meanwhile, at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos, NDLEA officers, working jointly with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, intercepted 8,287 nylon bags of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 4,143.5 kilograms and valued at over N10.3 billion.
The drugs were discovered in a container imported from Canada following weeks of intelligence-led monitoring by the agency’s Maritime Intelligence Unit.
In another operation, NDLEA operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) foiled an attempt to export 2.5 kilograms of skunk concealed inside a gas compressor destined for Cyprus through a Lagos-based courier company.
The agency also said its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign continued across schools, communities and workplaces, with sensitisation programmes held in Ebonyi, Kano, Ekiti and Ogun states, while the leadership of its Zone 14 Command paid an advocacy visit to the Rivers State Government.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, the MMIA, NAIA, Maritime Intelligence Unit and Apapa Commands for the successful arrests and seizures. He urged personnel across the country to sustain the momentum in both drug supply reduction and public enlightenment campaigns.