Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 38-year-old South African woman, Will Jessica Ann, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 5.75 kilograms of heroin into Nigeria while travelling with her three-year-old son.
The suspect was apprehended on Monday, July 6, 2026, during the arrival clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways Flight QR1433 from Doha.
According to the NDLEA, officers recovered 14 large blocks of heroin concealed inside two suitcases. The agency said the suspect initially denied checking in any luggage, but investigations showed that the baggage tags matched the claim tags attached to her passport.
After being confronted with the evidence, she admitted the bags belonged to her, claiming she had forgotten she checked them in.
In a statement issued on Sunday, NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the woman told investigators she travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja.
The agency added that intelligence reports linked her to a transnational drug trafficking network allegedly operating between Cambodia and South Africa with her husband and partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager.
Okada rider arrested with methamphetamine
In a separate operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested 48-year-old commercial motorcycle rider, Onyechere Chinadu, after he arrived from Madagascar through Addis Ababa aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
Officers initially recovered 87 wraps of methamphetamine hidden inside clothing in his backpack.
The suspect reportedly confessed that he had worked as an okada rider in Lagos for 15 years before being recruited into drug trafficking by an associate based in Uganda.
According to the NDLEA, he also admitted swallowing several pellets of methamphetamine in Uganda before travelling to Madagascar to deliver the consignment.
After he was denied entry into Madagascar, his sponsor allegedly redirected him to Lagos, where he was arrested.
The suspect was placed under observation, and between his arrest and July 11, he excreted 13 additional pellets, bringing the total seizure to 100 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 1.715 kilograms.
N10.3bn cannabis intercepted at Apapa Port
At the Apapa Seaport in Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted 8,287 bags of Canadian Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain, weighing 4,143.5 kilograms and valued at more than N10.3 billion.
The drugs were discovered during a joint inspection involving the NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies after weeks of monitoring a container imported from Canada.
The agency said the shipment had been under surveillance since it departed Montreal.
NDLEA also said it prevented an attempt to export 2.5 kilograms of skunk hidden inside a gas compressor destined for Cyprus through a Lagos courier company.
Beyond its enforcement operations, the agency said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign with awareness programmes in secondary schools across Ebonyi, Kano, Ekiti and Ogun states, while officials of its Zone 14 Command paid an advocacy visit to Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations and urged commands nationwide to sustain both anti-drug enforcement and public sensitisation efforts.
