The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 38-year-old South African woman at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, after officers allegedly found 5.75 kilograms of heroin concealed in her luggage.
According to the agency, the suspect allegedly attempted to avoid detection by travelling with her three-year-old son, hoping to reduce security scrutiny during passenger screening.
In a statement released on Sunday, the NDLEA said the woman was arrested on Monday, July 6, during the arrival clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Abuja.
Investigators said the suspect initially denied having any checked baggage. However, officers traced two suitcases containing the suspected heroin to baggage tags that matched those attached to her passport.
The agency said she later admitted the bags belonged to her, claiming she had forgotten she checked them in before departure.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect travelled from Cambodia through Doha before arriving in Abuja. The NDLEA added that intelligence gathered so far suggests she is allegedly connected to a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Cambodia–South Africa route.
In a separate operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested a 48-year-old commercial motorcycle rider 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 hidden inside his clothing.
The suspect reportedly told investigators he had worked as a commercial motorcycle rider in Lagos for about 15 years before being recruited into drug trafficking by an associate based in Uganda.
He also confessed to swallowing several pellets of methamphetamine before travelling to Madagascar to deliver the drugs. However, he was denied entry by immigration authorities and deported to Lagos, where NDLEA officers arrested him upon arrival.
Unable to state the exact number of pellets he had ingested, the suspect was placed under medical observation for three days. During that period, he excreted 13 additional pellets, bringing the total seizure to 100 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 1.715 kilograms.
Meanwhile, at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos, NDLEA officers, working with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, intercepted a shipment containing 8,287 nylon bags of Canadian Loud, a high-grade strain of cannabis, weighing 4,143.5 kilograms.
The agency estimated the street value of the seized cannabis at more than ₦10.3 billion. According to the NDLEA, the consignment was discovered during a joint inspection of a container imported from Canada after weeks of intelligence-driven surveillance by its Maritime Intelligence Unit.
In another breakthrough, operatives also thwarted an attempt to export 2.5 kilograms of skunk concealed inside a gas compressor destined for Cyprus through a Lagos-based courier company.
Beyond its enforcement operations, the agency said it continued its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign with awareness programmes held in schools, communities, workplaces and places of worship across Ebonyi, Kano, Ekiti and Ogun states. The campaign also included advocacy visits to government officials aimed at strengthening public awareness of the dangers of drug abuse.
The NDLEA commended officers involved in the various operations for their efforts and urged personnel across its commands to sustain the fight against drug trafficking while intensifying public enlightenment campaigns.
