The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 38-year-old South African woman, Jessica Ann, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 5.75 kilograms of heroin into Nigeria while travelling with her three-year-old son.
According to the agency, the suspect was intercepted on Monday, July 6, during the clearance of passengers arriving on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha. She initially denied checking in any luggage but later admitted ownership of two bags after NDLEA operatives matched the baggage tags with those attached to her passport. Fourteen large blocks of heroin were recovered from the bags.
The agency said preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect travelled from Cambodia through Doha and is believed to be part of a transnational drug trafficking network allegedly operated with her husband, Jan Coenraad De Jager, based in Cambodia.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, arrested a 48-year-old commercial motorcycle rider, Onyechere Daniel Chinadu, after his arrival from Madagascar via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
A search of his luggage led to the recovery of 87 wraps of methamphetamine concealed in clothing. During interrogation, the suspect claimed he had worked as an okada rider in Lagos for 15 years before being recruited into drug trafficking by a friend based in Uganda.
He further disclosed that he ingested additional pellets of methamphetamine in Uganda before travelling to Madagascar, where he was denied entry by immigration authorities and rerouted to Lagos. After being placed under medical observation for three days, he excreted 13 more pellets, bringing the total recovered to 100 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 1.715 kilograms.
Meanwhile, at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos, NDLEA officers, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, intercepted 8,287 bags of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 4,143.5 kilograms with an estimated street value of over N10.3 billion.
The agency said the drugs were concealed in a container imported from Canada and were uncovered during a joint examination on Friday, July 10, following weeks of intelligence-led tracking by its Maritime Intelligence Unit.
In another operation, NDLEA operatives also foiled an attempt to export 2.5 kilograms of skunk concealed inside a gas compressor destined for Cyprus through a courier company in Lagos.
Beyond enforcement operations, the agency said it sustained its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign with sensitisation programmes in schools and communities across Ebonyi, Kano, Ekiti and Ogun states, while its Zone 14 Command paid an advocacy visit to the Rivers State Government.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, NAIA, MMIA, Maritime Intelligence Unit and Apapa Command for the arrests and seizures.
He urged personnel across the country to remain committed to reducing drug supply while intensifying public awareness campaigns against drug abuse.