The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, known as the NDLEA, has arrested a 38-year-old South African national, Will Jessica Ann, over an alleged attempt to smuggle heroin into Nigeria, according to Channels Television. Officers recovered 14 blocks of heroin weighing 5.75 kilograms concealed inside her luggage at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, in what the agency described as a carefully disguised trafficking attempt.
The suspect was arrested on Monday, July 6, 2026, during the arrival clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to the Nigerian capital. According to the agency, she had travelled a long international route before landing in Abuja, where routine checks on arriving passengers ultimately led officers to the consignment hidden among her belongings.
In a detail that has drawn particular attention, the NDLEA alleges that the woman travelled with her three-year-old son in a deliberate bid to avoid suspicion and beat the security checks. The agency says the presence of the young child was intended to make her appear to be an ordinary traveller and to discourage officers from carrying out a thorough screening of her bags.
The agency said the suspect initially denied checking in any luggage when she was stopped by its operatives. However, officers established ownership of the bags after discovering that the baggage tags on the two suitcases containing the drugs matched the claim tags that were attached to her passport, undermining her denial and linking the consignment directly to her.
Following the discovery, the NDLEA said the woman later admitted ownership of the luggage. The heroin, packaged in more than a dozen blocks, had been arranged inside the suitcases in a way designed to escape detection, and its interception was presented by the agency as part of its wider effort to tighten controls at the country's international gateways.
According to the agency, preliminary investigations indicate that the suspect told officers she had travelled from Cambodia through Doha before arriving in Abuja. The NDLEA says the routing points to an organised smuggling operation rather than an isolated attempt, with the drugs moved across multiple countries before reaching the Nigerian capital.
The agency further alleges that the woman is part of a transnational drug trafficking network operating along the Cambodia to South Africa route. The NDLEA said its investigation into the syndicate and those linked to it is continuing, as it seeks to establish the full scope of the operation and the roles played by other suspected members of the network.