By SUMAILA OGBAJE

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has apprehended three South African nationals in recent operations involving the seizure of large quantities of illicit drugs.

The drugs recovered from the suspects include substance suspected to be heroin, as well as substance suspected be cocaine and suspected synthetic cannabis, popularly known as Loud.

Mr Francis Okogun, Assistant Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, disclosed this at a joint briefing by defence, security and intelligence agencies at the Office of the National Security Adviser in Abuja on Thursday.

Okogun said investigations indicated that some foreign nationals were involved in facilitating the movement of illicit drugs through Nigeria to other parts of the world, while others were bringing such substances into the country.

He said the arrests were significant because of the quantities and variety of drugs recovered.

“Our findings indicate that some foreign nationals are increasingly becoming involved in facilitating the movement of illicit drugs through Nigeria to other parts of the world.

“Some are also involved in bringing such substances into the country,” he said.

According to him, the suspects were suspected of working with international drug trafficking networks.

Okogun said the agency was conducting detailed investigations to establish the intended destinations of the drugs and identify those behind the shipments.

“Drug traffickers rarely volunteer information about their sponsors or the final destinations of their consignments.

“We are therefore conducting painstaking investigations to establish the actual destinations of the drugs and identify the cartels responsible for the shipments,” he said.

He said the names of the suspects and details of the drugs recovered, including their respective weights, had been contained in press releases issued by the agency within the last seven weeks.

“One of the cases involved a 38-year-old South African woman, who was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on July 6, 2026.

“NDLEA operatives recovered 14 blocks of heroin weighing 5.75 kilogrammes concealed in her luggage,” he said.

The agency spokesman said the suspect had allegedly used her three-year-old son as a cover to evade thorough security screening.

“She was arrested during inward clearance of passengers on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Abuja.

“In another case, a South African woman, was arrested at the Port Harcourt International Airport in October 2026 over the alleged smuggling of 32.74 kilogrammes of synthetic cannabis, popularly known as Thai Loud,” he added.

The NDLEA said investigations into the cases and the suspected international networks involved were ongoing. (NAN)