Felix Mbata, Lagos state
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has recorded another week of major breakthroughs in its drug supply reduction efforts, with the arrest of a South African lady who used her 3-year-old son as cover to traffic heroin into Abuja, the seizure of over N10.3 billion worth of Canadian Loud at Apapa Port, and the excretion of 100 wraps of methamphetamine by a commercial motorcycle rider in Lagos.
The string of arrests and seizures, announced on Sunday 12th July 2026, highlights the Agency’s intensified surveillance across airports, seaports, and courier channels, even as its War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, campaign continues nationwide.
MOTHER AND CHILD COVER BUSTED AT ABUJA AIRPORT
A 38-year-old South African lady, Ms. Will Jessica Ann, was arrested by NDLEA operatives at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Monday, 6th July 2026 during the inward clearance of Qatar Airways flight QR 1433 from Doha.
The suspect was found with 14 large blocks of heroin weighing 5.75 kilograms concealed in two check-in bags. She initially denied owning the bags, but operatives established that the luggage tags tallied with claim tags attached to her passport. She later admitted ownership, claiming she “forgot” she checked them in.
Investigations revealed she travelled from Cambodia through Doha to Abuja. Intelligence links her to a transnational drug trafficking organization operated with her husband/partner, Jan Coenraad De Jager, based in Cambodia. The syndicate runs operations along the Cambodia–South Africa axis.
OKADA RIDER EXCRETES 100 METH WRAPS IN LAGOS
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, NDLEA officers on 28th June 2026 intercepted Onyechere Daniel Chinadu, 48, a Lagos-based ‘Okada rider’ who arrived from Madagascar via Addis Ababa on Ethiopian Airways.
A search of his checked-in backpack uncovered 87 wraps of methamphetamine hidden in clothing. Placed under excretion observation after he could not state how many pellets he ingested in Uganda, the suspect expelled 13 additional wraps between his arrest and 1st July 2026.
The total recovery stood at 100 wraps with a gross weight of 1.715kg. In his statement, Onyechere said he worked as an Okada rider in Oke-Afo, Lagos for 15 years before being recruited by a Uganda-based friend. After being denied entry in Madagascar, his sponsor, Ozor Igo, rerouted him to Lagos.
N10.3 BILLION ‘CANADIAN LOUD’ SEIZED AT APAPA SEAPORT
In the biggest seizure of the week, NDLEA’s Maritime Intelligence Unit and Apapa Strategic Command, in a joint operation with Customs and other security agencies on Friday, 10th July 2026, intercepted a container imported from Montreal, Canada.
The container contained 8,287 nylon bags of Canadian Loud weighing 4,143.5 kilograms with an estimated street value of over N10.3 billion. The operation followed weeks of targeted tracking since the shipment departed Canada.
OTHER INTERDICTIONS
Operatives of the Directorate of Operation and General Investigation, DOGI, also foiled an attempt to export 2.5kg of skunk concealed in a gas compressor to Cyprus through a courier company in Lagos.
WADA: TAKING THE MESSAGE TO SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES
In line with its balanced approach, NDLEA Commands across the country sustained WADA sensitization activities. Highlights include lectures at:
- Nnodo Secondary School, Abakaliki, Ebonyi
- Government Girls Secondary School, Sabon Gida, Sharada, Kano
- Royal Jesuit College, Agbado Ekiti
- Community Secondary School, Idofa, Ogun.
The Zone 14 Command also paid an advocacy visit to Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara at Government House, Port Harcourt.
CONCLUSION:
Commending the officers of DOGI, MMIA, NAIA, MIU, and Apapa Commands, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd) said the results reflect the Agency’s commitment to dismantling both local and transnational drug networks.
He charged personnel to sustain the momentum by balancing aggressive enforcement with community-based prevention through WADA, noting that “we will not rest on our past laurels until every Nigerian community is free from the scourge of drug abuse.”
Femi Babafemi
Director, Media & Advocacy
NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja
Sunday, 12th July 2026