SHE came to Nigeria to visit her boyfriend and as she was going, he allegedly gave her a parting gift: a carton of sardines, because she loved to eat them.

That was what 39-year- old South African woman, Duru Gcinukwazi Lindiwe told National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) officials at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

But, she might not be eating sardines for sometime to come, because during the outward screening of passengers on a South African Airline flight to Johannesburg, it was discovered that inside the tins of sardine, Lindiwe, a street cleaner in Johannesburg, was carrying as well as in her luggage, were 5.5 kilogrammes of substance found to be methamphetamine.

The NDLEA Airport Commander, Mr. Hamza Umar said that a detailed search carried out on her based on suspicion yielded results as the drugs discovered have an estimated street value of N15 million. .

According to Hamza: “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.”

Married with a daughter, Lindiwe told narcotic detectives in her statement that her love for sardines has turned sour since her arrest.

In her words: “I love sardines for salad and sandwich. My Nigerian boyfriend gave me the carton of sardines as a gift because I love sardines. When my bag was searched at the airport, 5.5 kilogrammes of methamphetamine was found and I was arrested. I am missing my eight-year-old daughter because I travelled to the Philippines to study music for over one month. I was only in Nigeria to visit my boyfriend before going back to South Africa”.

The Chairman of the NDLEA, Alhaji Ahmadu Giade said that efforts were ongoing to apprehend more persons in connection with the illegal exportation of methamphetamine to South Africa.

According to Giade, “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.

“ Meanwhile, she will be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded.”

It would be recalled that in December 2011, another South African lady, Nene Fikile Happy-Girl, 38 years old, was caught with illegal drugs while attempting to board an Emirate flight to Malaysia.

She excreted 55 wraps of substances that tested positive for methamphetamine weighing 700 grammes.

According to the NDLEA spokesman, Mitchel Ofoyeju, methamphetamine also known as ‘meth’ is popular in Europe and quite expensive even more than cocaine.

The drug is known to increase alertness, concentration, energy and in high doses, can induce euphoria, enhance self-esteem and increase libido.

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