A 14-year-old boy in Canberra was charged with stealing a car and leading police on a pursuit for the second time in three days, hours after being released on bail, Australian federal police confirmed on Monday. The teenager was among seven youths allegedly involved in a separate stolen-vehicle chase last Thursday, during which an officer was nearly struck. He was arrested again on Sunday night after tyre spikes were deployed in the suburb of Kambah, and faces charges including dangerous driving and failing to stop.

In Melbourne, a Thai airline employee was remanded in custody after border force officers allegedly found about one kilogram of heroin concealed in the linings of 12 tote bags she carried on an international flight. The Australian Federal Police said the 26-year-old, who was on duty, had been charged with importing and possessing a commercial quantity of the drug, which carries a maximum 25-year sentence. The case prompted the police union in the Australian Capital Territory to renew demands for mandatory minimum sentences for offenders who target emergency workers, and for stricter bail conditions for repeat offenders. A separate police operation in Melbourne’s southern suburbs led to the arrest of two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, who allegedly committed armed robberies using a stolen Toyota and threatened victims with a knife.

Across Africa, Nigerian anti-narcotics officials intercepted a 38-year-old businesswoman at Lagos airport allegedly carrying 7.5 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a false-bottomed suitcase as she prepared to board a flight to Beijing. The same agency reported the seizure of nearly five tonnes of Canadian Loud cannabis from a container at Apapa port, and the dismantling of a syndicate that allegedly planted methamphetamine in passengers’ luggage at Abuja motor parks. In Kenya, detectives in Migori county arrested two men who had strapped 114 rolls of cannabis to their bodies beneath bulky jackets, while a separate investigation in Malindi led to the arrest of a suspect accused of using a hired car with altered number plates in a violent robbery.

In Argentina, local media reported that a doctor employed at a public hospital and a businesswoman were detained in the northern city of Tartagal after a vehicle chase on National Route 34. Unconfirmed accounts said police discovered approximately 70 kilograms of cocaine in a hidden compartment of the car. No official statement has been released, and the identities of those held remain undisclosed. Investigations are ongoing in all cases.