The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a South African woman at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into Nigeria.
In a statement on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA’s director of
media and advocacy, said the suspect, identified as 38-year-old Will Jessica
Ann, was arrested on July 6 during the inward clearance of passengers on a
Qatar Airways flight from Doha.
Babafemi said the suspect concealed 14 large blocks of
heroin weighing 5.75 kilogrammes in two checked bags and travelled with her
three-year-old son in an attempt to beat security checks and avoid thorough
screening.
He said the woman initially denied travelling with any
checked luggage.
The NDLEA spokesperson said operatives later established
that the baggage tags attached to the two suitcases matched the claim tags on
her passport.
According to him, the suspect subsequently admitted
ownership of the bags, claiming she forgot that she had checked them in.
Babafemi said the woman travelled from Cambodia through Doha
to Abuja.
He added that intelligence reports indicate she is a member
of a transnational drug trafficking syndicate allegedly operating along the
Cambodia-South Africa route with her husband or partner, identified as Jan
Coenraad De Jager.
NDLEA INTERCEPTS N10.3BN CANNABIS SHIPMENT, ARRESTS OKADA
RIDER
In a separate operation, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives
arrested 48-year-old Onyechere Daniel Chinadu at the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, on June 28 after he arrived from
Madagascar via Addis Ababa aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
He said officers recovered 87 wraps of methamphetamine
concealed inside clothing in the suspect’s backpack.
Babafemi said Chinadu told investigators he had worked as an
okada (commercial motorcycle) rider in Lagos for 15 years before a friend based
in Uganda recruited him into drug trafficking.
He added that the suspect confessed to swallowing an unknown
number of methamphetamine pellets in Uganda before travelling to Madagascar.
According to Babafemi, Chinadu was denied entry into
Madagascar by immigration authorities and was rerouted to Lagos, where he was
arrested.
He said the suspect was placed under excretion observation
because he could not state the number of pellets he ingested.
Babafemi said Chinadu excreted 13 additional pellets over
three days, bringing the total seizure to 100 wraps of methamphetamine weighing
1.715 kilogrammes.
The NDLEA spokesperson also said operatives intercepted
8,287 bags of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing 4,143.5
kilogrammes and valued at more than N10.3 billion at the Apapa seaport in
Lagos.
He said the drugs were discovered in a container imported
from Canada during a joint examination involving the NDLEA, the Nigeria Customs
Service and other security agencies on Friday.
Babafemi said the seizure followed weeks of intelligence-led
tracking of the shipment from Montreal, Canada, by the agency’s Maritime
Intelligence Unit in collaboration with its Apapa strategic command.
He added that NDLEA officers also foiled an attempt to
export 2.5 kilogrammes of skunk concealed inside a gas compressor bound for
Cyprus through a courier company in Lagos.
Babafemi said the agency continued its War Against Drug
Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign across schools, communities and workplaces
in different parts of the country.
He added that Mohammed Buba Marwa, chairman and chief
executive officer of the NDLEA, commended officers involved in the arrests and
seizures, urging them to sustain efforts to curb drug trafficking while
expanding public awareness campaigns.
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