The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested a 38-year-old South African woman, identified as Will 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.
According to the agency, the suspect was apprehended on Monday, July 6, 2026, during the inward clearance of passengers aboard Qatar Airways Flight QR1433 from Doha.
The NDLEA alleged that the woman concealed 14 large blocks of heroin inside two suitcases and initially denied travelling with any checked baggage upon interrogation by operatives.
However, the agency said further checks revealed that the baggage tags matched the claim tags attached to her passport, compelling her to acknowledge ownership of the luggage.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the anti-narcotics agency explained how the discovery unfolded.
“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,” the statement said.
The NDLEA stated that the suspect claimed she travelled from Cambodia through Doha before arriving in Abuja.
The agency further alleged that intelligence available to investigators linked the suspect to a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Cambodia–South Africa route alongside her husband and alleged associate, Jan Coenraad De Jager.
In another operation, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos arrested a 48-year-old commercial motorcyclist, Onyechere Chinadu, after he arrived from Madagascar through Addis Ababa aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
According to the agency, an initial search of his backpack led to the recovery of 87 wraps of methamphetamine concealed inside clothing.
Investigators alleged that the suspect confessed to working as an okada rider in Lagos for about 15 years before being recruited into international drug trafficking by a Uganda-based contact.
“He said he ingested the recovered pellets of methamphetamine in Uganda before embarking on his planned journey to Madagascar to deliver the drug consignment,” the statement said.
The NDLEA further disclosed that the suspect allegedly failed to gain entry into Madagascar and was redirected by his sponsor to Lagos, where he was arrested.
Because he could not accurately state the number of pellets he had swallowed, the agency placed him under medical observation.
Between the date of his arrest and July 11, officials said he excreted 13 additional pellets, bringing the total recovery to 100 wraps of methamphetamine weighing approximately 1.715 kilograms.
At the Apapa Seaport in Lagos, the NDLEA also announced the interception of 8,287 bags of Canadian Loud, a synthetic cannabis strain, weighing about 4,143.5 kilograms.
The agency estimated the street value of the consignment at more than ₦10.3 billion.
According to the statement, the drugs were discovered during a joint examination conducted by NDLEA officers, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies after weeks of surveillance on the container imported from Canada.
“The discovery followed weeks of targeted tracking and monitoring of the shipment since its departure from Montreal, Canada, by operatives of the Maritime Intelligence Unit of NDLEA in close collaboration with the Apapa Strategic Command of the Agency,” the statement added.
The agency also announced that operatives frustrated an attempt to export 2.5 kilograms of skunk concealed inside a gas compressor destined for Cyprus through a courier company in Lagos.
Beyond enforcement activities, the NDLEA stated that its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse campaign continued with sensitisation programmes held in secondary schools across Ebonyi, Kano, Ekiti and Ogun states.
The agency also disclosed that officials of its Zone 14 Command paid an advocacy visit to Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara as part of efforts to strengthen collaboration against drug abuse.
Reacting to the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, commended the officers and commands involved for sustaining both enforcement activities and public enlightenment campaigns.
He encouraged personnel across the country to remain committed to the agency’s mandate.
Marwa charged officers “not to rest on their past laurels” as the campaign against illicit drug trafficking and substance abuse continues nationwide.
