NDLEA Arrests South African Woman For 5.75kg Heroin Smuggling, Seizes ₦10.3bn Drugs

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 38-year-old South African woman for allegedly attempting to smuggle 5.75 kilograms of heroin into Nigeria and seized illicit drugs worth more than ₦10.3 billion in separate operations across the country.

The suspect, identified as Ms. Jessica Ann Will, was allegedly caught travelling with her three-year-old son, whom investigators said she used as a cover to avoid security scrutiny while attempting to bring the heroin into Nigeria.

The agency also intercepted 4,143.5 kilograms of Canadian Loud cannabis valued at over ₦10.3 billion at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos and arrested another suspected drug courier who excreted 100 wraps of methamphetamine after being placed under observation.

NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the operations in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday.

According to the agency, the South African suspect was intercepted during inward clearance after arriving in Nigeria, with operatives recovering the heroin concealed in her luggage despite her alleged attempt to evade suspicion by travelling with her young child.

In a separate operation at the Apapa Seaport, NDLEA officers uncovered 4,143.5 kilograms of Canadian Loud cannabis concealed in a container. The agency estimated the street value of the seized consignment at more than ₦10.3 billion.

Babafemi said operatives also arrested a suspected drug courier who later excreted 100 wraps of methamphetamine while under observation, bringing another trafficking attempt to an end.

He said the arrests and seizures underscore the agency’s sustained offensive against drug trafficking networks and reaffirmed the NDLEA’s commitment to dismantling criminal syndicates operating within and across Nigeria’s borders.