Politics
NDLEA arrests South African woman with 5.75kg heroin
OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have arrested a 38-year-old South African woman, Jessica Ann, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for allegedly attempting to smuggle 5.75 kilogrammes of heroin into Nigeria.
The agency said the suspect was arrested on July 6 during the clearance of passengers arriving aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1433 from Doha.
NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said the suspect allegedly concealed 14 large blocks of heroin in two suitcases and used her three-year-old son as a cover to avoid suspicion and thorough screening.
According to the agency, the woman initially denied travelling with any checked luggage but later admitted ownership of the bags after operatives matched the luggage tags to those attached to her passport.
Babafemi said intelligence reports linked the suspect to a transnational drug trafficking network allegedly operating between Cambodia and South Africa alongside her husband, Coenraad De Jager.
Her arrest comes at a time when Nigerians and other Africans in South Africa are facing renewed scrutiny amid anti-immigration protests driven by accusations that foreign nationals are involved in drug trafficking and other crimes.
The ICIR reported that xenophobic attacks in South Africa have led to several African countries evacuating their citizens from the southern African nation.
The attacks have led to the deaths of many immigrants and forceful takeover and destruction of their businesses. Many of the victims are tagged by South Africans as illegal immigrants despite holding valid papers. Many South Africans, especially the youths, believe immigrants take over their jobs and other means of livelihoods.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa recently vowed to crack down on groups behind the latest wave of violence in the country, as renewed anti-immigrant protests continued to trigger regional concern, diplomatic tensions and evacuation plans by affected countries.
Ramaphosa, in a televised address, said the government would not allow individuals or groups to exploit public frustration over illegal immigration to incite violence, lawlessness or political instability. However, his government has lauded the protests and described them as constitutional.
Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi, and Mozambique are among the countries that have evacuated their citizens.
Meanwhile, in a separate operation at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, NDLEA operatives arrested a 48-year-old commercial motorcyclist, Onyechere Chinadu, after he arrived from Madagascar via Addis Ababa on an Ethiopian Airlines flight.
The agency said a search of his backpack led to the recovery of 87 wraps of methamphetamine concealed in clothing. During interrogation, the suspect reportedly confessed that he had worked as an Okada rider in Lagos for 15 years before being recruited into drug trafficking by a friend based in Uganda.
He further told investigators that he ingested additional pellets of methamphetamine in Uganda before embarking on the trip.
NDLEA said the suspect was placed under observation and subsequently excreted 13 more pellets, bringing the total seizure to 100 wraps of methamphetamine weighing 1.715 kilogrammes.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.
