A South African woman, Duru Lindiwe, 39, was last weekend caught with 5.5 kg of substance found to be methamphetamine hidden in tins of sardines and her luggage.
Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, detected the drugs during routine a search at the departure hall.
The suspect, a street cleaner in Johannesburg, was apprehended during the outward screening of passengers on a South African Airline flight to Johannesburg, South Africa.
The drug, with an estimated street value of N15 million in Lagos, was hidden in tins of sardines as well as in her luggage.
NDLEA Airport Commander, Hamza Umar, confirmed that the suspect was arrested following a detailed search.
?She was travelling with a carton of sardines. When one of them was opened, the content was methamphetamine. Some of the drugs were also packed in a false bottom of her luggage,” he said.
Lindiwe, who is married with a daughter, told narcotic investigators in her statement, that her love for sardines had turned sour since her arrest.
She said that her Nigerian boyfriend had given the carton to her because of her love for sardine.
“When my bag was searched at the airport, 5.5 kg of methamphetamine was found and I was arrested,” she said.
“I am missing my eight-year-old daughter because I travelled to the Philippines to study music for over a month. I am only in Nigeria to visit my boyfriend before going to South Africa.?
The Agency’s Chairman, Ahmadu Giade, said efforts were ongoing to apprehend more persons in connection with the illegal drug smuggling.
“We have launched a full scale investigation into the case and we expect to arrest other members of the drug cartel. Drug traffickers are warned to quit the criminal act or face severe sanctions under the NDLEA Act,? he said.
He added that the suspect will be charged to court as soon as investigation into the matter is concluded.
It will be recalled that in December 2011, a South African lady, named Nene Fikile Happy-Girl, 38, was also caught with drugs while attempting to board an Emirate flight to Malaysia.
She excreted 55 wraps of substances that tested positive for methamphetamine weighing 700 grammes. She had since been charged to court and the case is ongoing.?
