The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 38-year-old South African woman, Will Jessica Ann, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into Nigeria through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport while reportedly using her three-year-old son as cover.
According to the agency, the suspect was arrested on Monday, July 6, 2026, during the inward clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways Flight QR1433 from Doha to Abuja.
NDLEA said the suspect initially denied travelling with any checked baggage. However, officers discovered that two suitcases containing 14 large blocks of heroin carried baggage tags matching the claim tags attached to her passport.
The agency said she later admitted ownership of the bags, claiming she had forgotten that she had checked them in. She reportedly told investigators that she travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja.
According to NDLEA, intelligence indicates the suspect is allegedly part of a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Cambodia–South Africa route with her husband and alleged accomplice, Jan Coenraad De Jager.
Other Major Operations
NDLEA said its operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport also arrested a 48-year-old commercial motorcyclist, Onyechere Daniel Chinadufor, after he arrived from Madagascar via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
According to the agency, officers recovered 87 wraps of methamphetamine concealed inside clothing in his backpack. After being placed under observation, the suspect allegedly excreted 13 additional pellets, bringing the total seizure to 100 wraps weighing 1.715 kilogrammes.
The suspect reportedly told investigators he had worked as an okada rider in Lagos for 15 years before being recruited into drug trafficking by an associate based in Uganda.
In another operation, NDLEA, working jointly with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other security agencies, intercepted 8,287 nylon bags of “Canadian Loud”, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 4,143.5 kilogrammes and valued at more than ₦10.3 billion, during the examination of a container imported from Canada at the Apapa Seaport.
The agency said the seizure followed weeks of intelligence gathering and surveillance by its Maritime Intelligence Unit from the point of shipment in Montreal, Canada.
NDLEA also said it thwarted an attempt to export 2.5 kilogrammes of skunk concealed inside a gas compressor destined for Cyprus through a Lagos-based courier company.
The agency added that its commands across the country continued implementing the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through awareness programmes in schools, places of worship, and communities.
Commending officers involved in the operations, Mohamed Buba Marwa praised the agency’s commands for combining enforcement operations with public sensitisation and urged them to remain committed to combating illicit drug trafficking nationwide.
