NDLEA nabs South African woman With 5.75kg heroin at Abuja Airport

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 38-year-old South African woman, identified as Ms. Will Jessica Ann, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into Nigeria through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, while reportedly using her three-year-old son as a cover to evade security checks.

The agency also announced the interception of 4,143.5 kilogrammes of Canadian Loud cannabis, valued at over N10.3 billion, at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos, alongside other significant anti-narcotics operations across the country.

The NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the developments in a statement issued on Sunday, describing the operations as part of the agency’s sustained offensive against international drug trafficking syndicates.

According to Babafemi, the South African suspect was arrested on Monday, July 6, during the inward clearance of passengers arriving aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1433 from Doha.

He explained that the suspect initially claimed she had not travelled with any checked luggage. However, NDLEA operatives discovered that two suitcases containing 14 large parcels of heroin, weighing a total of 5.75 kilogrammes, carried baggage tags that matched the claim tags attached to her passport.

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“When the discrepancy was brought to her attention, she eventually admitted ownership of the suitcases, claiming she had forgotten she checked them in,” Babafemi stated.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect travelled from Cambodia through Doha before arriving in Abuja.

The agency said intelligence gathered during the investigation suggests she is allegedly linked to a transnational drug trafficking syndicate believed to be operated alongside her husband or partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, who is reportedly based in Cambodia.

According to the NDLEA, the syndicate is suspected of coordinating illicit narcotics trafficking along the Cambodia–South Africa route, with Nigeria serving as one of its operational destinations.

In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives working in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies intercepted a shipment containing 8,287 nylon bags of the highly potent cannabis strain known as Canadian Loud at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos.

The illicit consignment, concealed inside a container imported from Montreal, Canada, weighed 4,143.5 kilogrammes and has an estimated street value of over N10.3 billion.

Babafemi disclosed that the seizure was the result of weeks of intelligence gathering, surveillance and coordinated monitoring by the agency’s Maritime Intelligence Unit in collaboration with the Apapa Strategic Command.

He said officers tracked the shipment from its point of departure in Canada until its arrival in Nigeria before intercepting it.

The anti-narcotics agency also thwarted an attempt to export 2.5 kilogrammes of skunk, another potent strain of cannabis, concealed inside a gas compressor destined for Cyprus through a Lagos-based courier company.

The operation was carried out by operatives attached to the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI).

Beyond enforcement operations, the NDLEA said it continues to strengthen its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through sensitisation and public enlightenment programmes aimed at preventing drug abuse, particularly among young people.

The advocacy campaign was recently conducted at Nnodo Secondary School in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State; Government Girls Secondary School, Sabon Gida, Sharada in Kano State; Royal Jesuit College in Agbado Ekiti; and Community Secondary School, Idofa in Ogun State.

Reacting to the successful operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Command, Maritime Intelligence Unit, and Apapa Strategic Command for their professionalism and operational successes.

Marwa urged the operatives to sustain the momentum in dismantling drug trafficking networks while intensifying public awareness campaigns aimed at reducing drug abuse and protecting communities across Nigeria.