The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has exposed what appears to be an increasingly sophisticated international drug trafficking network after intercepting a South African woman allegedly using her three-year-old son as camouflage to smuggle heroin into Nigeria and arresting a commercial motorcycle rider who excreted 100 wraps of methamphetamine.
The coordinated operations, which also led to the seizure of Canadian cannabis worth more than ₦10.3 billion at the Apapa Seaport, underscore the agency’s growing focus on dismantling transnational drug syndicates using Nigeria as a transit and destination hub.
At the centre of the airport operation is 38-year-old South African national Jessica Ann Will, who was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, after NDLEA officers discovered 5.75 kilograms of heroin concealed in two suitcases she allegedly tried to disown despite travelling with her three-year-old son.
Investigators said intelligence linked the suspect to a Cambodia-based international trafficking network allegedly operated with her partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager.
In Lagos, operatives arrested Onyechere Daniel Chinadu, an Okada rider, after recovering 87 wraps of methamphetamine from his luggage. He was subsequently placed under observation and excreted 13 additional pellets, bringing the total to 100 wraps weighing 1.715 kilograms.
The suspect told investigators he had been recruited into drug trafficking by a Uganda-based associate after years of working as a commercial motorcyclist.
The agency also announced the seizure of 4,143.5 kilograms of Canadian Loud concealed in a shipping container from Canada. The cannabis, valued at over ₦10.3 billion, was intercepted after weeks of intelligence-led tracking before the vessel arrived at Apapa Port.
NDLEA further disclosed that officers frustrated an attempt to export 2.5 kilograms of skunk hidden inside a gas compressor bound for Cyprus through a Lagos courier company.
Chairman of the agency, retired Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the operations and urged commands nationwide to sustain both drug interdiction efforts and public enlightenment under the War Against Drug Abuse campaign.