NDLEA arrests S’African with 36.65kg cocaine at Lagos airport

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has detained a 34-year-old South African woman and a 62-year-old Nigerian-American realtor at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, seizing significant quantities of cocaine and synthetic cannabis. The arrests form part of a broader wave of anti-drug operations conducted across nine Nigerian states during the previous week. Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, disclosed the seizures in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja. Qhina Beauty, the South African national, was apprehended on October 7, 2026, within the airport’s departure hall. Operatives stopped her as she attempted to board a Qatar Airways flight destined for South Africa via Doha. A search of her two traveling bags revealed 30 blocks of cocaine totaling 36.65 kilograms. The narcotics were concealed using dried pepper, wrapped in cellophane tape, and distributed across seven separate parcels. During her interrogation, Beauty stated that she had entered Nigeria on September 30 specifically to retrieve the consignment. She claimed recruitment by another South African woman who promised a payment of 20,000 rand upon successful delivery. Beauty further identified two additional associates in the alleged syndicate: one individual based in the United States and a car dealer operating in Lagos. Following these statements, NDLEA agents placed a 46-year-old car dealer, Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, under surveillance at his residence in Shasha. On October 14, officers intercepted him at Apple Junction on Ago Palace Way in Lagos. Umunnakwe admitted to receiving Beauty at the airport and facilitating her accommodation. He confirmed lodging her initially at the Santiago Hotel in Amuwo-Odofin before transferring her to the Cynarisso Hotel, located near the airport, prior to her scheduled departure. In a distinct operation at the same airport, agents arrested Anetor Gloria Ubong on October 21. Ubong, a 62-year-old realtor residing in Richmond, Texas, arrived on a United Airlines flight from Houston. She holds dual citizenship with both Nigerian and United States passports. A search of her two checked-in luggage items uncovered 18 parcels of loud, a synthetic cannabis variety, weighing 9.45 kilograms. The contraband was hidden inside a box lined with gift-wrapping paper. Ubong told investigators that her daughter and her daughter’s future brother-in-law had delivered the package to her home in the United States. She stated that her role was to transport the item to Nigeria for handover to her daughter’s fiancé, identified as Jibola. Beyond the airport intercepts, NDLEA units executed raids and arrests in Lagos, Delta, Kano, Taraba, Niger, Bauchi, Ondo, Edo, and Oyo states. In Lagos, a special unit arrested 41-year-old Eletu Rasheedat in the Eti Osa area on October 23. Officers recovered 5,820 pills of diazepam, 780 tablets of tramadol, 3.7 kilograms of skunk, and 230.25 liters of skuchies. In Delta State, authorities detained 51-year-old Peter Ugochukwu in Warri. The seizure included a massive cache of pharmaceutical opioids: 29,350 tramadol capsules, 6,620 tramadol 200mg tablets, 4,116 bottles of codeine syrup, 11,340 Rohypnol tablets, and 3,500 diazepam tablets. Agents also confiscated 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 200 ampoules of diazepam injection, and unspecified quantities of tramadol 225mg, Molly, and Cocodamol. Chukwu was transported alongside a white Hummer bus previously handed over by the Nigeria Police Force in Delta State. Separately, a 46-year-old woman with physical disabilities, identified as Helen Bakporo Samson, was arrested on October 19 at Enhere Junction in Warri with 6.0 kilograms of skunk. Operations in Oyo State resulted in the arrest of 41-year-old Fajana Dada Oluwaseyi in Adamasingba, Ibadan, on October 19. This followed his earlier escape from custody after officers seized 197.8 kilograms of cannabis sativa from his residence on September 16. In Kano State, a raid in the Gerawa area on October 22 led to the detention of a suspect and the confiscation of 159 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 97.2 kilograms. In Taraba State, agents at the Lankaviri checkpoint in Yorro Local Government Area arrested a suspect on October 23 with 95 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 60.175 kilograms. That same day, the Nigeria Police Force handed over a suspect arrested in Dakka village, Bali Local Government Area, holding 112 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 81.49 kilograms. In Niger State, operatives on the Sabo-Kainji road in Borgu Local Government Area arrested a suspect on October 19 carrying 64,000 pills of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam. Bauchi State saw the arrest of a suspect on October 21 in Nasaru Town, Ningi Local Government Area, resulting in the seizure of 379 kilograms of cannabis sativa packed in seven jumbo sacks. In Ondo State, acting on intelligence, agents raided a farm in Board-Ala, Akure South, on October 20, recovering 56 bags of abandoned cannabis sativa weighing 583 kilograms. In Edo State, operatives destroyed two cannabis farms in Ugbada Forest, Uzebba, Owan West Local Government Area, on October 18. The sites had an estimated yield of 2,023.14 kilograms. Agents burned 450 kilograms of processed cannabis at the location and secured 97 kilograms as evidence. Additionally, a suspect was arrested in the Ewe community of Owan West with 35 kilograms of the substance. Retired Brigadier General Buba Marwa, the NDLEA Chairman, commended the commands in the affected states for their vigilance and intelligence-driven approach. He urged all personnel to maintain the current pace of operations against drug trafficking. The agency also reported conducting drug abuse sensitization programs in schools and communities across Oyo, Niger, Ogun, Kano, Enugu, Anambra, and Osun states during the period. These educational efforts targeted students and staff at institutions including Oje Grammar School in Ibadan and Government Day Secondary School in Kwamba.