Nigeria Arrests S/African Woman Using 3-Year-Old Son To Smuggle Heroin

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has apprehended three South African nationals in current operations involving the seizure of enormous portions of illicit medicine.

The medicine recovered from the suspects embrace substances suspected to be heroin, in addition to substances suspected to be cocaine and suspected artificial hashish, popularly often called Loud.

Mr Francis Okogun, Assistant Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, disclosed this at a joint briefing by defence, safety and intelligence businesses on the Office of the National Security Adviser in Abuja on Thursday.

Okogun stated investigations indicated that some overseas nationals had been concerned in facilitating the motion of illicit medicine by way of Nigeria to different components of the world, whereas others had been bringing such substances into the nation.

He stated the arrests had been vital due to the portions and number of medicine recovered.

“Our findings indicate that some foreign nationals are increasingly becoming involved in facilitating the movement of illicit drugs through Nigeria to other parts of the world.

“Some are also involved in bringing such substances into the country,” he stated.

According to him, the suspects had been suspected of working with worldwide drug trafficking networks.

Okogun stated the company was conducting detailed investigations to ascertain the meant locations of the medicine and establish these behind the shipments.

“Drug traffickers rarely volunteer information about their sponsors or the final destinations of their consignments.

“We are therefore conducting painstaking investigations to establish the actual destinations of the drugs and identify the cartels responsible for the shipments,” he stated.

He stated the names of the suspects and particulars of the medicine recovered, together with their respective weights, had been contained in press releases issued by the company inside the final seven weeks.

“One of the cases involved a 38-year-old South African woman, who was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on July 6, 2026.

“NDLEA operatives recovered 14 blocks of heroin weighing 5.75 kilogrammes concealed in her luggage,” he stated.

The company spokesman stated the suspect had allegedly used her three-year-old son as a canopy to evade thorough safety screening.

“She was arrested during inward clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Abuja.

“In another case, a South African woman, was arrested at the Port Harcourt International Airport in October 2026 over the alleged smuggling of 32.74 kilogrammes of synthetic cannabis, popularly known as Thai Loud,” he added.

The NDLEA stated investigations into the instances and the suspected worldwide networks concerned had been ongoing.