NDLEA busts South African woman using baby to smuggle heroin into Nigeria

In what appears to be one of the most disturbing drug trafficking cases recorded in 2026, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 38-year-old South African woman who allegedly used her three-year-old son as a cover to smuggle 5.75 kilograms of heroin into Nigeria through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja.

The suspect identified as Ms. Will Jessica Ann and was arrested on Monday, July 6, 2026, during the inward clearance of passengers arriving aboard Qatar Airways Flight QR1433 from Doha.

According to director of media and advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, the suspect initially denied travelling with any checked-in luggage, apparently hoping to evade security scrutiny.

However, anti-narcotics officers, acting on intelligence, matched two unattended suitcases with baggage claim tags attached to her passport.

“A search of the luggage uncovered 14 large blocks of heroin weighing 5.75 kilograms carefully concealed inside.

“Investigators revealed the presence of the woman’s three-year-old son appeared to be a deliberate ploy to lower suspicion and beat security checks, a tactic increasingly employed by international drug trafficking syndicates.

“Faced with overwhelming evidence, the suspect reportedly admitted ownership of the bags, claiming she had “forgotten” she checked them in,” Babafemi stated.

Further intelligence gathered by the agency revealed that she had travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja and is believed to be a member of a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating between Cambodia and South Africa.

The agency said she allegedly works alongside her husband and partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, who is based in Cambodia and is currently being linked to the criminal network.

The arrest came as NDLEA recorded another major breakthrough at the MMIA, Lagos, where operatives intercepted a commercial motorcycle rider who attempted to smuggle methamphetamine into Nigeria.

The suspect, Onyechere Daniel Chinadu, 48, arrived from Madagascar via Addis Ababa aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight.

A search of his luggage led to the recovery of 87 wraps of methamphetamine hidden inside clothes packed in his backpack.

During interrogation, Chinadu confessed that he had worked as an Okada rider in the Oke-Afa area of Lagos for about 15 years before a Uganda-based associate recruited him into international drug trafficking.

He further disclosed that he swallowed an undisclosed quantity of methamphetamine pellets in Uganda before travelling to Madagascar, where he was expected to deliver the consignment.

However, Madagascar immigration authorities denied him entry and he was subsequently re-routed to Lagos, where NDLEA officers arrested him on arrival.

Because he could not state the exact quantity of drugs ingested, the suspect was placed under close medical observation, Blueprint.ng reports.

Over a period of three days, he excreted 13 additional pellets, bringing the total number of wraps recovered from him to 100, with a combined weight of 1.715 kilograms.

In another intelligence-led operation, NDLEA operatives at the Apapa Seaport recorded one of the biggest cannabis seizures of the year after intercepting 8,287 nylon bags of Canadian Loud weighing 4,143.5 kilograms.

The illicit consignment, valued at over ₦10.3 billion on the street, was concealed inside a container imported from Montreal, Canada.

The seizure followed weeks of surveillance and tracking by the agency’s Maritime Intelligence Unit in collaboration with the Apapa Strategic Command before the shipment was subjected to a joint examination involving NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies.

The agency also foiled an attempt by traffickers to export 2.5 kilograms of skunk hidden inside a gas compressor destined for Cyprus through a Lagos courier company.

Beyond enforcement operations, NDLEA said it sustained its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign with sensitisation programmes in schools and communities across Ebonyi, Kano, Ekiti and Ogun states, while officials of its Zone 14 Command paid an advocacy visit to Rivers state governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara.

Commending officers involved in the successful operations, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), praised the professionalism of personnel of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, NAIA, MMIA, Maritime Intelligence Unit and Apapa Command.

He charged officers nationwide not to relent in the fight against illicit drug trafficking, stressing that sustained intelligence gathering, effective border surveillance and public sensitisation remain critical to dismantling drug cartels and protecting Nigerian communities from the devastating impact of narcotics.