NDLEA Arrests South African Woman with 36.65kg of Cocaine, US-Based Grandmother with Cannabis

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the arrest of a 34-year-old South African woman, identified as Qhina Beauty, with 36.65 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. According to the agency, she was arrested on October 7, 2026, while preparing to board a Qatar Airways flight to South Africa through Doha. A search of her two travel bags reportedly uncovered 30 blocks of cocaine concealed with dried pepper, wrapped in cellophane tape and packed into seven parcels. The NDLEA disclosed the arrest in a statement issued on Sunday, October 25, through its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi. The agency said the seizure formed part of its continuing efforts to disrupt international drug-trafficking networks operating through Nigeria’s airports.

According to the NDLEA, Qhina told investigators that she arrived in Nigeria on September 30 specifically to collect the drug consignment. She reportedly said another South African woman recruited her for the operation and promised to pay her 20,000 South African rand after a successful delivery. The suspect allegedly identified two other people she claimed were connected to the operation, including an individual based in the United States and a Lagos-based car dealer. The agency said further investigations led to the arrest of the 46-year-old dealer, Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, on October 14 at Apple Junction, Ago Palace Way, Lagos, following surveillance at his residence in Shasha. The NDLEA alleged that he admitted receiving the woman at the airport and arranging accommodation for her at two hotels before her planned departure. The allegations remain subject to the appropriate legal process.

In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives arrested 62-year-old Anetor Gloria Ubong, a Nigerian-American realtor based in Richmond, Texas. The agency said she arrived on a United Airlines flight from Houston on October 21, carrying two checked-in boxes. A search reportedly uncovered 18 parcels of high-grade cannabis, commonly called “loud,” weighing 9.45 kilogrammes. The substance was allegedly concealed inside a box covered with gift-wrapping paper. According to the NDLEA, Ubong told investigators that her daughter and the daughter’s future brother-in-law had delivered the package to her home in the United States for onward delivery in Nigeria to her daughter’s fiancé, identified as Jibola. The agency has not established the alleged roles of other individuals through a court judgment, and the claims should be understood as part of its ongoing investigation.

The NDLEA also reported several other arrests and seizures across the country. In Lagos, officers arrested 41-year-old Eletu Rasheedat in the Eti-Osa area on October 23 and allegedly recovered 5,820 pills of diazepam, 780 tablets of tramadol, 3.7 kilogrammes of skunk cannabis and 230.25 litres of a locally prepared alcoholic mixture known as skuchies. In Delta State, a 51-year-old suspect, Peter Ugochukwu, was arrested in Warri with thousands of capsules and tablets of tramadol, bottles of codeine syrup, Rohypnol, diazepam and injectable controlled medicines. Another suspect, Helen Bakporo Samson, 46, was reportedly arrested at Enhere Junction in Warri with six kilogrammes of skunk. The agency also announced arrests and seizures involving cannabis and opioid medicines in Kano, Taraba, Niger, Bauchi, Oyo, Ondo and Edo states, including the recovery of 583 kilogrammes of cannabis from a farm in Ondo State.

The latest operations underline the scale and geographical spread of the NDLEA’s campaign against drug trafficking and substance abuse. The agency said officers also dismantled cannabis farms, seized large quantities of controlled medicines and continued public-awareness activities in schools, workplaces, religious centres and communities through its War Against Drug Abuse programme. NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier-General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations and urged commands across the country to maintain intelligence-led enforcement. The arrests also highlight the role of international airport screening and cross-border investigations in detecting suspected drug consignments. However, arrests and seizures are not the same as convictions: the suspects are entitled to due process, and their criminal responsibility must be determined through the legal.