Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 38-year-old South African woman at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, after allegedly discovering 5.75 kilograms of heroin concealed inside her luggage.
The agency said the suspect was apprehended on Monday, July 6, during the inward clearance of passengers arriving on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha, with investigators alleging that she attempted to use her three-year-old son as a cover to avoid detailed security checks.
According to a statement released by the NDLEA on Sunday, the suspect initially denied travelling with any checked luggage. However, officers reportedly discovered that two bags containing the illicit substance had baggage tags corresponding with those attached to her passport.
“She eventually admitted ownership of the bags after claiming she had forgotten that she checked them in,” the agency stated.
The NDLEA said preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja and is allegedly connected to a transnational drug trafficking network operating along the Cambodia–South Africa route.
In a separate operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested a 48-year-old commercial motorcycle rider who arrived from Madagascar through Addis Ababa aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
A search of his checked backpack led to the discovery of 87 wraps of methamphetamine hidden inside clothing. The suspect allegedly admitted that he had been recruited into drug trafficking by an associate based in Uganda after working as a commercial motorcycle rider in Lagos for about 15 years.
The agency said the suspect had swallowed additional pellets of methamphetamine before travelling to Madagascar to deliver the consignment but was denied entry by immigration authorities. He was subsequently returned to Lagos, where he was arrested.
After being placed under observation for three days, the suspect excreted 13 additional pellets, bringing the total recovery to 100 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 1.715 kilograms.
Meanwhile, at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos, NDLEA officers, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, intercepted a container shipment containing 8,287 nylon bags of Canadian Loud, a potent cannabis strain, weighing 4,143.5 kilograms.
The agency valued the seized consignment at more than ₦10.3 billion. The drugs were uncovered during a joint examination of a container imported from Canada following weeks of intelligence-led monitoring by the NDLEA Maritime Intelligence Unit.
In another operation, the agency also prevented an attempt to export 2.5 kilograms of skunk concealed inside a gas compressor through a Lagos-based courier company to Cyprus.
Beyond enforcement actions, the NDLEA said it continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through sensitisation programmes in schools, communities, workplaces and religious centres across states including Ebonyi, Kano, Ekiti and Ogun.
The agency praised its officers for the successful operations and urged personnel nationwide to maintain efforts aimed at reducing drug trafficking while expanding public awareness campaigns against substance abuse.
