NDLEA Arrests South African Woman With 36.65kg Cocaine, US-Based Grandmother With Cannabis
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 34-year-old South African woman with 36.65 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, and a 62-year-old Nigerian-American grandmother with 9.45kg of a high-grade cannabis strain known as loud, allegedly imported from the United States.
The arrests were part of a series of operations by the anti-narcotics agency that led to the seizure of large quantities of illicit drugs and pharmaceutical opioids across several states, including Lagos, Delta, Kano, Bauchi, Niger, Edo, Ondo, Taraba and Oyo.
The NDLEA disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, who said the arrests followed intelligence-led operations targeting drug trafficking networks and their collaborators.
The South African suspect, identified as Qhina Beauty, was arrested on 7 October at the departure hall of the Lagos airport while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to South Africa via Doha.
A search of her two travelling bags uncovered 30 blocks of cocaine weighing 36.65kg. The consignment, allegedly concealed with dried pepper, was wrapped in cellophane tape and packed into seven separate parcels.
During interrogation, Beauty reportedly told investigators that she arrived in Nigeria on 30 September specifically to collect the drugs. She allegedly disclosed that another South African woman recruited her and promised to pay her R20,000 upon successful delivery.
She also identified two other alleged members of the trafficking network, one based in the United States and the other a Lagos-based car dealer.
Further investigations led to the arrest of the suspected car dealer, 46-year-old Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, on 14 October at Apple Junction, Ago Palace Way, Lagos, following days of surveillance at his residence in Shasha.
According to the agency, Umunnakwe admitted receiving Beauty at the airport, arranging her accommodation at Santiago Hotel in Amuwo-Odofin and subsequently moving her to Cynarisso Hotel near the airport ahead of her scheduled departure.
In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives arrested Anetor Gloria Ubong, a 62-year-old realtor based in Richmond, Texas, on Wednesday, 21 October, following her arrival on a United Airlines flight from Houston.
Ubong, who holds Nigerian and United States passports, was allegedly found with 9.45kg of loud concealed in a box inside her two checked-in luggage items. The consignment comprised 18 parcels wrapped in gift paper.
She reportedly told investigators that her daughter and the daughter’s prospective brother-in-law had delivered the box to her home in the US for onward transportation to Nigeria. The intended recipient, she claimed, was her daughter’s fiancé, identified as Jibola.
Beyond the airport arrests, the agency recorded several drug seizures and arrests across the country.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives attached to a special operations unit arrested 41-year-old Eletu Rasheedat in the Eti Osa area on Friday, 23 October. Recovered from her were 5,820 pills of diazepam, 780 tablets of tramadol, 3.7kg of skunk, a cannabis variety, and 230.25 litres of a concoction known as skuchies.
In Delta State, operatives arrested 51-year-old Peter Ugochukwu in Warri over a large consignment of pharmaceutical opioids and other controlled substances.
The agency said the exhibits 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.
Other substances recovered included tramadol 225mg, Molly and Cocodamol. Ugochukwu was transferred to the NDLEA alongside a white Hummer bus by the Nigeria Police Force in Delta State.
In another operation in Warri, a 46-year-old physically challenged woman, Helen Bakporo Samson, was arrested at Enhere Junction on Monday, 19 October, with 6kg of skunk.
In Oyo State, NDLEA officers arrested 41-year-old Fajana Dada Oluwaseyi in the Adamasingba area of Ibadan on 19 October. The agency said he had earlier escaped arrest after operatives seized 197.8kg of cannabis sativa from his residence on 16 September.
In Kano State, a raid on the Gerawa area on Thursday, 22 October, resulted in the arrest of 30-year-old Murtala Lawan and the seizure of 159 blocks of cannabis weighing 97.2kg.
In Taraba State, officers intercepted 39-year-old Raiyanu Misa at the Lankaviri checkpoint in Yorro Local Government Area on Friday, 23 October, and recovered 95 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 60.175kg.
On the same day, the Nigeria Police Force handed over to the agency a suspect arrested in Dakka village, Bali Local Government Area, with 112 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 81.49kg.
In Niger State, 26-year-old Emmanuel Ekene was arrested on 19 October along the Sabo-Kainji Road in Borgu Local Government Area with 64,000 pills of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.
In Bauchi State, operatives arrested 45-year-old Jamilu Mustapha, also known as Last Card, at Nasaru Town in Ningi Local Government Area on Wednesday, 21 October. The operation led to the seizure of 379kg of cannabis packed in seven large sacks.
The agency also uncovered and destroyed cannabis cultivation sites in Ondo and Edo states.
Acting on intelligence, NDLEA operatives raided a farm at Board-Ala, Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State, on Tuesday, 20 October, recovering 56 abandoned bags of cannabis sativa weighing 583kg.
In Edo State, two cannabis farms in Ugbada Forest, Uzebba, Owan West Local Government Area, were destroyed on Sunday, 18 October. The farms had an estimated yield of 2,023.14kg of cannabis.
The operatives also destroyed 450kg of processed cannabis at the site while retaining 97kg as exhibits. In a related operation at Ewe community in Owan West, a 42-year-old woman, Mary Edokhai, was arrested with 35kg of the substance.
Beyond enforcement operations, the NDLEA said its commands and formations continued public awareness campaigns under its War Against Drug Abuse initiative, targeting schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities.
Among the institutions reached were Oje Grammar School in 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.
The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the MMIA, Kano, Lagos, Bauchi, Niger, Edo, Ondo, Taraba, Oyo and Delta commands for what he described as their vigilance, professionalism and intelligence-driven operations.
He urged them and other personnel nationwide to sustain their efforts against drug trafficking and substance abuse.
