The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a South African woman, Qhina Beauty, 34, with 36.65 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
NDLEA also apprehended a Nigerian-American woman, Anetor Gloria Ubong, 62, with 9.45kg of high-grade cannabis, known as loud, imported from the United States.
The Director of Media and Advocacy of NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement made available to ThelensNG on Sunday.
According to the statement, Beauty 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 via Doha.
A search of her two travelling bags led to the recovery of 30 blocks of cocaine weighing 36.65kg. The drugs, mixed with dried pepper, were wrapped in cellophane tape and packed into seven separate parcels.
During her interview with operatives, Beauty said that she arrived in Nigeria on September 30 specifically to collect the consignment. She disclosed that another South African woman had recruited her and promised to pay her R20,000 upon successful delivery of the drugs.
She also claimed that she was introduced to two other members of the syndicate — one based in the United States and the other a car dealer based in Lagos.
Babafemi revealed that further investigations led to the arrest of the 46-year-old car dealer, Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, on October 14. He was intercepted at Apple Junction, Ago Palace Way, Lagos, after days of surveillance at his residence in Shasha.
Umunnakwe reportedly admitted that he received Qhina at the airport, lodged her at Santiago Hotel in Amuwo-Odofin and later moved her to Cynarisso Hotel near the airport ahead of her departure.
In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA officers arrested 62-year-old Anetor Gloria Ubong, a realtor based in Richmond, Texas, who holds both Nigerian and United States passports.
Ubong was arrested on Wednesday, October 21, following her arrival on a United Airlines flight from Houston. A search of her two checked-in boxes led to the discovery of 18 parcels of loud weighing 9.45kg, concealed with gift-wrapping paper inside a box.
She reportedly told investigators that her daughter and her daughter’s prospective brother-in-law had delivered the box to her home in the United States for onward delivery in Nigeria to her daughter’s fiancé, identified as Jibola.
Meanwhile, operatives of the NDLEA’s Special Operations Unit arrested 41-year-old Eletu Rasheedat in the Eti-Osa area of Lagos on Friday, 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.
In Delta State, a 51-year-old suspect, Peter Ugochukwu, was arrested in Warri with a large cache of pharmaceutical drugs, including opioids.
The seized items comprised 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.
Ugochukwu was transferred to the NDLEA, alongside a white Hummer bus, by the Nigeria Police Force in Delta State.
In a separate operation at Enhere Junction, Warri, NDLEA operatives arrested Helen Bakporo Samson, a 46-year-old woman with a physical disability, on Monday, October 19 with 6.0kg of skunk.
In Ibadan, Oyo State, 41-year-old Fajana Dada Oluwaseyi was arrested on October 19 in the Adamasingba area. The arrest followed his earlier escape when NDLEA officers seized 197.8kg of cannabis sativa from his house on September 16.
Similarly, a raid in the Gerawa area of Kano State led to the arrest of 30-year-old Murtala Lawan and the seizure of 159 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 97.2kg on October 22.
At the Lankaviri checkpoint in Yorro Local Government Area of Taraba State, NDLEA officers 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 to the NDLEA a suspect arrested at Dakka village in Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State. The suspect was found with 112 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 81.49kg.
In Niger State, 26-year-old Emmanuel Ekene was arrested by NDLEA operatives along the Sabo-Kainji Road in Borgu Local Government Area on October 19. He was found with 64,000 pills of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.
The Agency also arrested 45-year-old Jamilu Mustapha, popularly known as Last Card, at Nasaru town in Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State on October 21. Officers seized 379kg of cannabis sativa packed in seven jumbo sacks.
Acting on intelligence, NDLEA officers raided a farm at Board-Ala in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State on October 20 and recovered 56 bags of abandoned cannabis sativa weighing 583kg.
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.
The officers also burnt 450kg of processed cannabis at the site and took 97kg as exhibits.
In a related operation in Ewe community, Owan West, operatives arrested 42-year-old Mary Edokhai with 35kg of the same psychoactive substance.
The Agency’s Commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces, communities, and other places in the past week.
The activities included WADA enlightenment lectures delivered to students and staff of 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, among others.
Commenting on the seizures and arrests, the 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 their vigilance, diligence, professionalism, and intelligence-driven approach to the successful operations.
Marwa urged the officers and their colleagues across the country to sustain the momentum in the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse.
