NDLEA ARRESTS SOUTH AFRICAN WOMAN WITH 36.65KG COCAINE AT LAGOS AIRPORT
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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, Ikeja, Lagos.
Beauty was arrested at the airport’s departure hall on October 7, 2026, while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to South Africa via Doha.
The NDLEA said a search of her two travelling bags led to the recovery of 30 blocks of cocaine weighing 36.65kg, concealed in seven separate parcels and allegedly mixed with dried pepper.
The agency disclosed this in a statement on Sunday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.
According to the statement, Beauty told investigators that she arrived in Nigeria on September 30 specifically to collect the consignment.
She allegedly said another South African woman recruited her and promised to pay her R20,000 upon successful delivery of the drugs.
The suspect also reportedly identified two other members of the alleged syndicate, one based in the United States and another a Lagos-based car dealer.
The agency said 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 surveillance at his residence in Shasha.
Umunnakwe allegedly admitted receiving Beauty at the airport, lodging her at Santiago Hotel in Amuwo-Odofin and later moving her to Cynarisso Hotel near the airport ahead of her departure.
In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, the agency arrested a 62-year-old Nigerian-American woman, Anetor Gloria Ubong, with 9.45kg of a substance identified by the NDLEA as loud, a form of cannabis.
Ubong, described as a Texas-based realtor holding Nigerian and United States passports, was arrested on October 21 following her arrival on a United Airlines flight from Houston.
The agency said a search of her two checked-in boxes uncovered 18 parcels of the substance concealed with gift-wrapping paper.
According to the NDLEA, Ubong claimed that her daughter and the daughter’s future 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.
The agency also reported several arrests and drug seizures in other parts of the country.
In Lagos, operatives arrested 41-year-old Eletu Rasheedat in the Eti-Osa area on October 23. Recovered items included 5,820 pills of diazepam, 780 tablets of tramadol, 3.7kg of skunk and 230.25 litres of a substance known as skuchies.
In Warri, Delta State, a 51-year-old suspect, Peter Ugochukwu, was arrested with a large quantity of pharmaceutical opioids and other substances.
The NDLEA listed the seizures as 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, alongside quantities of tramadol 225mg, Molly and Cocodamol.
The agency said Ugochukwu was transferred from the Nigeria Police Force in Delta State alongside a white Hummer bus.
In another operation at Enhere Junction, Warri, operatives arrested 46-year-old Helen Bakporo Samson, a woman with a physical disability, on October 19, with 6kg of skunk.
In Ibadan, Oyo State, a 41-year-old suspect, Fajana Dada Oluwaseyi, was arrested in the Adamasingba area on October 19. The agency said the arrest followed his earlier escape after NDLEA officers seized 197.8kg of cannabis from his residence on September 16.
The NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier-General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged operatives to sustain efforts to combat drug trafficking and substance abuse across the country.
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