The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded another major breakthrough in its ongoing war against illicit drug trafficking, arresting a 38-year-old South African woman, Ms. Will Jessica Ann, who allegedly attempted to smuggle 5.75 kilograms of heroin into Nigeria by using her three-year-old son as a cover to evade security scrutiny at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja.
The suspect was apprehended by NDLEA operatives on Monday, July 6, 2026, during the inward clearance of passengers arriving aboard Qatar Airways Flight QR1433 from Doha. During routine screening, the South African national initially denied travelling with any checked luggage. However, vigilant NDLEA officers established that two suitcases containing the illicit consignment bore baggage tags corresponding with the claim tags attached to her passport.
Confronted with the evidence, she admitted ownership of the bags, claiming she had forgotten she had checked them in. A thorough search of the luggage uncovered 14 large blocks of heroin with a combined weight of 5.75 kilograms.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja. Intelligence gathered by the anti-narcotics agency further indicates that she is allegedly part of a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating between Cambodia and South Africa alongside her husband and partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, who is believed to be coordinating the network from Cambodia.
In another significant operation, NDLEA operatives at the Terminal 2 Arrival Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, arrested a 48-year-old commercial motorcycle rider, Onyechere Daniel Chinadu, shortly after he arrived from Madagascar via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
A comprehensive search of his checked backpack led to the recovery of 87 wraps of methamphetamine concealed inside clothing items. During interrogation, the suspect disclosed that he had worked as an Okada rider in the Oke-Afa area of Lagos for 15 years before being recruited into drug trafficking by a friend based in Uganda.
He further confessed that he had swallowed additional pellets of methamphetamine in Uganda before embarking on what was intended to be a delivery trip to Madagascar. According to him, immigration authorities in Madagascar denied him entry, prompting his sponsor, identified as Ozor Igo and based in Uganda, to reroute him to Lagos, where NDLEA operatives arrested him upon arrival.
Unable to state the exact quantity of drugs he had ingested, the suspect was placed under medical observation for excretion. Over a three-day period, between his arrest and July 1, he excreted an additional 13 pellets, bringing the total recovery to 100 wraps of methamphetamine with a gross weight of 1.715 kilograms.
Meanwhile, at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos, NDLEA officers, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, intercepted a massive shipment of cannabis popularly known as Canadian Loud.
During a joint examination conducted on Friday, July 10, 2026, operatives uncovered 8,287 nylon bags of Canadian Loud weighing 4,143.5 kilograms inside a container imported from Montreal, Canada. The seized consignment has an estimated street value of more than N10.3 billion.
The seizure followed weeks of intelligence-led surveillance by the Maritime Intelligence Unit of the NDLEA, working closely with the Agency’s Apapa Strategic Command, which tracked the container from its point of departure in Canada until its arrival in Nigeria.
In a related operation, officers attached to the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) thwarted an attempt to export 2.5 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, concealed inside a gas compressor destined for Cyprus through a Lagos-based courier company.
Beyond enforcement operations, the Agency sustained its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) advocacy campaign by conducting sensitization programmes across schools, communities, workplaces and religious centres.
Among the institutions reached during the past week were Nnodo Secondary School in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State; Government Girls Secondary School, Sabon Gida, Sharada in Kano State; Royal Jesuit College, Agbado Ekiti; and Community Secondary School, Idofa in Ogun State. The leadership of NDLEA Zone 14 Command also paid an advocacy visit to Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, at the Government House in Port Harcourt as part of efforts to strengthen public awareness and stakeholder collaboration against drug abuse.
Commending the officers and personnel of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command, the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Command, the Maritime Intelligence Unit and the Apapa Command for the successful arrests and seizures, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), praised their commitment to disrupting drug trafficking networks while simultaneously promoting preventive education through the WADA campaign.
He urged officers across the country to remain steadfast in their mission, stressing that the fight against illicit drugs requires sustained vigilance, professionalism and unwavering dedication.
Discussion about this post