NDLEA Arrests South African Woman, Seizes ₦10.3bn Worth Of Drugs

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 38-year-old South African woman, Ms. Will Jessica Ann, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 5.75 kilograms of heroin into Nigeria while travelling with her three-year-old son, whom she reportedly used as a cover to evade security scrutiny.

The NDLEA also announced the seizure of 4,143.5 kilograms of Canadian Loud cannabis worth over ₦10.3 billion at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos, alongside the interception of an alleged drug courier who excreted 100 wraps of methamphetamine after his arrest.

NDLEA’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi disclosed the operations in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday.

According to the NDLEA, “Jessica Ann was arrested on Monday, July 6, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, during the clearance of passengers arriving on Qatar Airways flight QR1433 from Doha.

‘The suspect allegedly denied travelling with checked luggage until NDLEA operatives matched the baggage claim tags on two suitcases containing 14 large blocks of heroin with the tags attached to her passport. She subsequently admitted ownership of the bags, claiming she had forgotten she checked them in.”

Investigators said the suspect travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja and is believed to be part of a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating between Cambodia and South Africa alongside her husband or partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager.

In a separate operation, NDLEA officers 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 luggage led to the recovery of 87 wraps of methamphetamine concealed inside clothing. During interrogation, the suspect claimed he had worked as an Okada rider in Lagos for 15 years before being recruited into drug trafficking by a friend based in Uganda.

He told investigators he swallowed additional drug pellets in Uganda before travelling to Madagascar but was denied entry by immigration authorities and rerouted to Lagos, where he was apprehended.

Because he could not state how many pellets he had ingested, NDLEA placed him under observation. Over three days, he excreted 13 more wraps, bringing the total recovery to 100 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 1.715 kilograms.