NDLEA intercepts N10.3bn cannabis haul, arrests South African woman with 5.75kg heroin

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has recorded a series of major drug busts across the country, including the seizure of cannabis worth more than N10.3 billion at the Apapa seaport in Lagos, the arrest of a South African woman with heroin at the Abuja airport, and the interception of an Okada rider, who later excreted drug pellets after his arrest in Lagos.

One of the operations led to the arrest of 38-year-old South African national, Will Jessica Ann, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

NDLEA said she was caught with 14 large blocks of heroin weighing 5.75 kilograms hidden inside her luggage. The agency alleged that she travelled with her three-year-old son in a bid to avoid suspicion and beat security checks.

The suspect was arrested on Monday, July 6, 2026, during the arrival clearance of passengers on Qatar Airways flight QR1433 from Doha to Abuja.

According to the agency, she initially denied checking in any luggage.

However, officers discovered that the baggage tags on two suitcases containing the drugs matched the claim tags attached to her passport. She later admitted the bags belonged to her, claiming she had forgotten she checked them in.

She told investigators she travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja.

NDLEA said intelligence available to it showed she is allegedly part of an international drug trafficking syndicate operating between Cambodia and South Africa alongside her husband and partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, who is based in Cambodia.

In a separate operation, NDLEA officers arrested 48-year-old commercial motorcycle rider, Onyechere Daniel Chinadu, after he arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, from Madagascar through Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight on June 28.

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

During interrogation, Onyechere said he had worked as an Okada rider in the Oke-Afo area of Lagos for about 15 years before a friend based in Uganda introduced him to drug trafficking.

He confessed that he swallowed methamphetamine pellets in Uganda before setting out for Madagascar to deliver the drugs.

However, he said immigration officials denied him entry into Madagascar. His sponsor, identified as Ozor Igo and based in Uganda, then rerouted him to Lagos, where he was arrested by NDLEA operatives.

Since he could not tell investigators how many pellets he had swallowed, he was placed under observation for three days.

During that period, he excreted 13 additional pellets, bringing the total recovery to 100 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 1.715 kilograms.

At the Apapa seaport in Lagos, NDLEA, working with the Nigeria Customs Service and other security agencies, also intercepted 8,287 nylon bags of Canadian Loud weighing 4,143.5 kilograms with an estimated street value of more than N10.3 billion.

The drugs were found inside a container imported from Canada during a joint examination carried out on Friday, July 10, 2026.

NDLEA said the seizure came after weeks of intelligence gathering and close monitoring of the shipment from the point it left Montreal, Canada.

“The discovery followed weeks of targeted tracking and monitoring of the shipment since its departure from Montreal, Canada, by operatives of the Maritime Intelligence Unit of NDLEA in close collaboration with the Apapa Strategic Command of the Agency,” the agency said.

In another operation, operatives of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, DOGI, stopped an attempt to export 2.5 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, concealed inside a gas compressor bound for Cyprus through a courier company in Lagos.

Reacting to the successful operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), commended officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Maritime Intelligence Unit and Apapa Commands for the arrests and seizures.

He praised their efforts in reducing the supply of illicit drugs while also sustaining drug abuse awareness campaigns across the country, urging them not to relent in the fight against drug trafficking and abuse.