NDLEA arrests South African woman with 36.65kg cocaine at Lagos airport

By Adebola Muili

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 34-year-old South African woman, Qhina Beauty, with 36.65 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, while attempting to smuggle the consignment to South Africa through Doha, Qatar.

In a separate operation at the same airport, operatives arrested a 62-year-old Nigerian-American grandmother, Anetor Gloria Ubong, with 9.45kg of loud, a potent strain of cannabis imported from the United States.

The arrests formed part of a series of operations by the agency, which also led to the recovery of large consignments of illicit drugs in Lagos, Delta, Kano, Bauchi, Niger, Edo, Ondo, Taraba and Oyo states.

The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed these in a statement made available to journalists on Sunday, October 25, 2026.

Babafemi said Qhina was arrested on October 7 at the airport’s departure hall while preparing to board a Qatar Airways flight to South Africa via Doha.

A search of her two travelling bags led to the discovery of 30 blocks of cocaine weighing 36.65kg. The consignment had been mixed with dried pepper, wrapped in cello tape and packed into seven separate parcels.

During interrogation, the suspect reportedly told investigators that she arrived in Nigeria on September 30 specifically to collect the consignment.

She said another South African woman recruited her for the operation and promised to pay her R20,000 upon successful delivery. She also identified two other alleged members of the syndicate, one based in the United States and the other a Lagos-based car dealer.

According to the statement, further investigations led to the arrest of the 46-year-old car dealer, Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, on October 14 at Apple Junction, Ago Palace Way, Lagos, following days of surveillance at his residence in Shasha.

Umunnakwe reportedly admitted receiving Qhina at the airport, lodging her at Santiago Hotel in Amuwo-Odofin and subsequently moving her to Cynarisso Hotel near the airport ahead of her departure.

In the second airport operation, Ubong was arrested on October 21 after arriving in Nigeria aboard a United Airlines flight from Houston, Texas, in the United States.

The 62-year-old realtor, who is based in Richmond, Texas, and holds Nigerian and American passports, was found with 18 parcels of loud weighing 9.45kg in her two checked-in boxes.

The substance was concealed in a box wrapped with gift-wrapping paper.

Babafemi said the suspect claimed that her daughter and the daughter’s future brother-in-law delivered the box to her home in the United States for onward delivery in Nigeria to her daughter’s fiancé, identified as Jibola.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives recorded another significant seizure in Delta State, where they arrested a 51-year-old suspect, Peter Ugochukwu, in Warri with a large consignment of pharmaceutical opioids and other controlled substances.

The recovered items included 29,350 capsules of tramadol, 6,620 tablets of tramadol 200mg, 4,116 bottles of codeine syrup, 11,340 tablets of Rohypnol and 3,500 tablets of diazepam.

The operatives also recovered 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 200 ampoules of diazepam injection and quantities of tramadol 225mg, Molly and Cocodamol.

The suspect was transferred to the NDLEA alongside a white Hummer bus from the Nigeria Police Force in Delta State.

In a separate operation at Enhere Junction, Warri, operatives arrested a 46-year-old physically challenged woman, Helen Bakporo Samson, on October 19 with 6kg of skunk, another form of cannabis.

In Edo State, NDLEA operatives destroyed two cannabis farms in Ugbada Forest, Uzebba, Owan West Local Government Area, on October 18.

The farms had an estimated yield of 2,023.14kg of cannabis. During the operation, the officers also destroyed 450kg of processed cannabis at the site and recovered another 97kg as exhibits.

A 42-year-old woman, Mary Edokhai, was also arrested at Ewe community in Owan West with 35kg of the substance.

In Ondo State, officers acting on intelligence raided a farm at Board-Ala, Akure South, on October 20 and recovered 56 bags of abandoned cannabis weighing 583kg.

The agency also recorded a major seizure in Bauchi State, where operatives arrested a 45-year-old suspect, Jamilu Mustapha, popularly known as Last Card, at Nasaru Town, Ningi Local Government Area, on October 21.

The officers recovered 379kg of cannabis from the suspect, with the substance packed in seven jumbo sacks.

In Niger State, a 26-year-old suspect, Emmanuel Ekene, was arrested on October 19 along the Sabo-Kainji Road in Borgu Local Government Area with 64,000 pills of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.

In Kano State, a raid in the Gerawa area on October 22 led to the arrest of a 30-year-old suspect, Murtala Lawan, and the seizure of 159 blocks of cannabis weighing 97.2kg.

Similarly, NDLEA operatives at the Lankaviri checkpoint in Yorro Local Government Area of Taraba State arrested a 39-year-old suspect, Raiyanu Misa, on October 23 with 95 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 60.175kg.

On the same day, the agency received another suspect from the police following his arrest at Dakka village in Bali Local Government Area. The suspect was found with 112 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 81.49kg.

In Oyo State, operatives arrested a 41-year-old suspect, Fajana Dada Oluwaseyi, in Adamasingba, Ibadan, on October 19.

His arrest followed his alleged escape from an earlier operation on September 16, when NDLEA officers seized 197.8kg of cannabis from his residence.

In another operation in Lagos, the agency’s special operations unit arrested a 41-year-old woman, Eletu Rasheedat, in the Eti-Osa area on October 23.

The officers recovered 5,820 pills of diazepam, 780 tablets of tramadol, 3.7kg of skunk and 230.25 litres of skuchies from her.

Beyond the arrests and seizures, the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaign in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities across the country.

According to the statement, the campaign featured enlightenment lectures for students and staff of Oje Grammar School, Ibadan, Oyo State; Government Day Secondary School, Kwamba, Niger State; Baptist Primary School, Olorunda, Ogun State; Government Secondary School, Yalea, Kano State; Community Secondary School, Igogoro, Enugu State; Urban Girls Secondary School, Onitsha, Anambra State; and Kelebe Community Grammar School, Osogbo, Osun State, among others.

Commending officers and men of the MMIA, Kano, Lagos, Bauchi, Niger, Edo, Ondo, Taraba, Oyo and Delta commands for their vigilance, professionalism and intelligence-led operations, the NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged them and their colleagues nationwide to sustain the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse.