The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 38-year-old South African woman, Jessica Ann Will, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 5.75 kilograms of heroin into Nigeria through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja.
The agency alleged that the suspect travelled with her three-year-old son in a bid to avoid suspicion during security screening.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the suspect was arrested on Monday, July 6, 2026, during the clearance of passengers arriving aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1433 from Doha.
NDLEA operatives recovered 14 large blocks of heroin concealed in two suitcases after the suspect initially denied travelling with any checked luggage.
“Though she initially denied travelling with check-in bags, after operatives were able to quickly establish that the two bags containing the drugs had tags which tallied with the claim tags attached to her passport, she recanted and admitted ownership of the bags, adding that she forgot she checked in the two bags,” Babafemi said.
According to the agency, the suspect told investigators she travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja.
The NDLEA further alleged that intelligence gathered during the investigation linked her to a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating between Cambodia and South Africa.
“Intelligence leading to her arrest indicates she is a member of a transnational drug trafficking organization along with her husband/partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, based in Cambodia from where they operate their drug network along the Cambodian-South African axis,” the statement added.
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 he arrived from Madagascar via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
A search of his backpack led to the recovery of 87 wraps of methamphetamine concealed inside clothing.
Babafemi said the suspect confessed that he had worked as a commercial motorcycle rider in Lagos for 15 years before he was recruited into drug trafficking by an associate based in Uganda.
“He said he ingested the recovered pellets of methamphetamine in Uganda before embarking on his planned journey to Madagascar to deliver the drug consignment. Upon arrival in Madagascar, he was denied entry by immigration authorities and was rerouted to Lagos, where he was arrested,” Babafemi stated.
The agency said the suspect was placed under observation after failing to disclose the number of drug pellets he had swallowed.
“Between the date of his arrest and July 1, he excreted 13 additional pellets, bringing the total recovery to 100 wraps of methamphetamine with a gross weight of 1.715 kilograms,” the agency disclosed.
Meanwhile, at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos, NDLEA officers intercepted a shipment of 8,287 nylon bags of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 4,143.5 kilograms and valued at more than ₦10.3 billion.
According to the agency, the seizure followed weeks of intelligence-led surveillance and was made during a joint examination involving the NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies after the container arrived from Montreal, Canada.
The agency also said it thwarted an attempt to export 2.5 kilograms of skunk concealed inside a gas compressor bound for Cyprus through a Lagos-based courier company.
Beyond enforcement operations, the NDLEA said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign with sensitisation programmes in schools and communities across Ebonyi, Kano, Ekiti and Ogun states. It added that officials of its Zone 14 Command also paid an advocacy visit to Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
Commending officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised personnel for sustaining the agency’s twin strategy of drug interdiction and public awareness.
Marwa “commended the officers and men of DOGI, MMIA, NAIA, MIU and Apapa Commands of the Agency for the arrests and seizures,” urging them to sustain the momentum.
He noted that their “drug supply reduction efforts balanced with WADA sensitization activities” should continue, charging them “not to rest on their past laurels.”