A 29-year-old South African has been arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja for attempting to smuggle 2.6 kg of methamphetamine to the Middle East, Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) reported Sunday.

The suspect, identified as Erasmus Jean-Pierre, was apprehended last Wednesday during passenger screening on an Ethiopian Airlines flight bound for Addis Ababa. A search of his luggage uncovered the concealed narcotics carefully packed into different compartments.

Investigations revealed Jean-Pierre arrived in Lagos on August 19 after transiting through Abidjan. He then travelled to Abuja on August 22 to pick up the drug parcel before heading to the airport on August 23 for his outbound flight.

In a related incident, NDLEA operatives attached to courier firms in Lagos foiled bids by a transnational syndicate to ship 117 grams of ketamine hidden in slippers and 2.14 kg of cannabis concealed in a wooden drum to Indonesia.

Elsewhere, Gombe NDLEA officers recovered an abandoned vehicle containing 373,420 pills of tramadol and other opioids during a patrol along Darazo Road.

The seizures underscore Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to disrupt organized drug trafficking networks targeting the country as both a consumption destination and strategic transit hub. The NDLEA has intensified operations to dismantle cartels and intercept illegal shipments.

Officials say criminal groups exploit the nation’s porous borders and busy transit routes. But strengthening enforcement and interdiction capacity is limiting their activities and curbing the flow of illicit substances.