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NDLEA arrests 34-year-old South African national Qhina Beauty at Lagos airport with 36.65kg of cocaine concealed in two travelling bags as she allegedly prepared to fly to South Africa via Doha.
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Investigation into the cocaine shipment leads to the arrest of Lagos car dealer Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, accused of receiving and accommodating the South African suspect after she arrived in Nigeria.
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Nigerian-American grandmother and Texas-based realtor Anetor Gloria Ubong, 62, is arrested at MMIA with 9.45kg of high-grade cannabis, known as loud, allegedly brought into Nigeria from the United States.
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Separate NDLEA operations across Lagos, Delta, Oyo, Kano, Taraba, Niger, Bauchi, Ondo and Edo yield huge quantities of cannabis, tramadol, codeine, diazepam and other controlled substances, while cannabis farms are destroyed.
October 25, (THEWILL) – The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 34-year-old South African woman, Qhina Beauty, with 36.65 kilograms of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, as the agency intensified its crackdown on international and domestic drug trafficking networks.
In a separate operation at the same airport, operatives arrested a 62-year-old Nigerian-American grandmother and Texas-based realtor, Anetor Gloria Ubong, with 9.45kg of high-grade cannabis, popularly known as loud, allegedly imported from the United States.
NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, who disclosed the arrests in a statement on Sunday, said operatives also recovered large quantities of illicit drugs and controlled pharmaceutical substances during separate operations in Lagos, Delta, Oyo, Kano, Taraba, Niger, Bauchi, Ondo and Edo states.
According to the agency, Qhina was arrested at the departure hall of the Lagos airport on October 7, 2026, while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to South Africa through Doha.
A search of her two travelling bags allegedly led to the discovery of 30 blocks of cocaine weighing 36.65kg. The drugs were laced with dried pepper, wrapped in cello tape and packed into seven separate parcels.
NDLEA said the suspect told investigators that she arrived in Nigeria on September 30 specifically to collect the cocaine consignment.
She allegedly claimed that she was recruited by another South African woman who promised to pay her R20,000 upon successful delivery of the drugs.
According to the agency, Qhina also told investigators that she was introduced to two other alleged members of the syndicate — one based in the United States and another identified as a car dealer in Lagos.
Further investigation led NDLEA operatives to a 46-year-old car dealer, Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, who was arrested on October 14 at Apple Junction, Ago Palace Way, Lagos, following days of surveillance around his residence in Shasha.
NDLEA said Umunnakwe admitted receiving Qhina at the airport after she arrived in Nigeria and lodging her at Santiago Hotel in Amuwo-Odofin before subsequently moving her to Cynarisso Hotel near the airport ahead of her planned departure.
In another major interception at MMIA on Wednesday, October 21, NDLEA operatives arrested Ubong following her arrival aboard a United Airlines flight from Houston, United States.
The agency described the 62-year-old as a realtor based in Richmond, Texas, who holds both Nigerian and United States passports.
A search of her two checked-in boxes allegedly uncovered 18 parcels of loud weighing 9.45kg, concealed with gift wrapping paper inside one of the boxes.
Ubong, according to NDLEA, claimed the box was delivered to her home in the United States by her daughter and her daughter’s prospective brother-in-law for onward delivery in Nigeria to her daughter’s fiancé, identified simply as Jibola.
Raids Across States
Beyond the airport interceptions, NDLEA said its Special Operations Unit on Friday, October 23, arrested Eletu Rasheedat, 41, in the Eti-Osa area of Lagos, where officers recovered 5,820 pills of diazepam, 780 tablets of tramadol, 3.7kg of skunk and 230.25 litres of skuchies.
In Delta State, 51-year-old Peter Ugochukwu was arrested in Warri with a large cache of pharmaceutical opioids and other controlled substances.
The haul included 29,350 capsules of tramadol, 6,620 tablets of tramadol 200mg, 4,116 bottles of codeine syrup, 11,340 tablets of Rohypnol, 3,500 tablets of diazepam, 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 200 ampoules of diazepam injection.
Quantities of tramadol 225mg, Molly, and Cocodamol were also recovered.
NDLEA said Ugochukwu was transferred to the agency alongside a white Hummer bus by the Nigeria Police Force, Delta State Command.
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In another operation at Enhere Junction, Warri, operatives on October 19 arrested a 46-year-old physically challenged woman, Helen Bakporo Samson, allegedly in possession of 6kg of skunk.
In Oyo State, Fajana Dada Oluwaseyi, 41, was arrested in Adamasingba, Ibadan, on October 19 after allegedly escaping arrest during an earlier operation on September 16, when NDLEA officers seized 197.8kg of cannabis sativa from his residence.
A raid in the Gerawa area of Kano on October 22 also resulted in the arrest of Murtala Lawan, 30, and the recovery of 159 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 97.2kg.
At the Lankaviri checkpoint in Yorro Local Government Area of Taraba State, operatives arrested 39-year-old Raiyanu Misa on October 23 with 95 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 60.175kg.
On the same day, the Nigeria Police Force handed over another suspect arrested at Dakka village, Bali LGA, with 112 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 81.49kg.
64,000 Opioid Pills Seized In Niger
In Niger State, NDLEA operatives arrested Emmanuel Ekene, 26, along the Sabo-Kainji Road in Borgu LGA on October 19, allegedly with 64,000 pills of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.
In Bauchi State, officers arrested 45-year-old Jamilu Mustapha, also known as “Last Card,” at Nasaru Town in Ningi LGA on October 21, recovering 379kg of cannabis sativa packed in seven jumbo sacks.
Acting on intelligence, NDLEA officers also raided a farm at Board-Ala in Akure South LGA of Ondo State on October 20 and recovered 56 bags of abandoned cannabis sativa weighing 583kg.
The anti-narcotics agency recorded another major operation in Edo State, where its officers destroyed two cannabis farms in Ugbada Forest, Uzebba, Owan West LGA, on October 18.
NDLEA estimated the farms’ potential yield at 2,023.14kg. Operatives also destroyed 450kg of processed cannabis at the location and took another 97kg as exhibit.
In a related operation at Ewe community in Owan West, 42-year-old Mary Edokhai was arrested with 35kg of cannabis.
NDLEA Intensifies Anti-Drug Campaign
The latest seizures come amid sustained efforts by the NDLEA to disrupt drug trafficking networks operating through Nigeria’s international airports, highways, communities and illicit cannabis farms.
Beyond enforcement, the agency said its commands and formations continued activities under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign during the week, taking sensitisation programmes to schools, workplaces, worship centres and communities.
The programmes covered institutions in Oyo, Niger, Ogun, Kano, Enugu, Anambra and Osun states, among others, as the agency seeks to combine interdiction and prosecution with public education against drug abuse.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended officers of the MMIA, Kano, Lagos, Bauchi, Niger, Edo, Ondo, Taraba, Oyo and Delta commands for what he described as their vigilance, diligence, professionalism and intelligence-driven operations.
Marwa urged personnel across the country to sustain the momentum of the campaign against drug trafficking and substance abuse.
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
