By Fatima Idera, JKNewsMedia Reporter
THE NATIONAL Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a South African woman with 36.65kg of cocaine at Lagos airport and a Nigerian-American grandmother with 9.45kg of imported cannabis, as nationwide operations yielded major drug seizures and several arrests.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the agency identified the suspects as 34-year-old Qhina Beauty, arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, and 62-year-old Anetor Gloria Ubong, a realtor based in Richmond, Texas, in the United States.
Operatives arrested Qhina on 7 October 2026 at the airport’s departure hall as she prepared 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 as the officers found the drugs mixed with dried pepper, wrapped in cello tape and packed into seven separate parcels.
During questioning, Qhina told investigators that she arrived in Nigeria on 30 September specifically to collect the consignment. She said 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 drug syndicate, one based in the United States and another operating as a car dealer in Lagos.
The investigation led to the arrest of 46-year-old Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, the Lagos-based car dealer, on 14 October. NDLEA operatives intercepted him at Apple Junction, Ago Palace Way, after conducting surveillance at his residence in Shasha.
Umunnakwe admitted receiving Qhina 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 departure.
In a separate operation at the Lagos airport on Wednesday, 21 October, NDLEA officers arrested Ubong following her arrival on a United Airlines flight from Houston.
The grandmother, who holds Nigerian and United States passports, had 18 parcels of loud, a high-grade cannabis variety, weighing 9.45kg concealed in one of her two checked-in boxes with gift-wrapping paper.
She told investigators 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.
Beyond the airport seizures, NDLEA operations across several states resulted in the recovery of cannabis, pharmaceutical opioids and other illicit substances, alongside arrests targeting suspected drug dealers and traffickers.
In Lagos, a special operations unit arrested 41-year-old Eletu Rasheedat in the Eti Osa area on Friday, 23 October. Officers recovered 5,820 diazepam pills, 780 tramadol tablets, 3.7kg of skunk and 230.25 litres of skuchies.
In Delta State, operatives arrested 51-year-old Peter Ugochukwu in Warri and recovered a large quantity of pharmaceutical opioids and other substances. The haul included 29,350 tramadol capsules, 6,620 tramadol tablets of 200mg, 4,116 bottles of codeine syrup, 11,340 Rohypnol tablets, 3,500 diazepam tablets, 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection and 200 ampoules of diazepam injection.
Officers also recovered quantities of tramadol 225mg, Molly and Cocodamol. Authorities transferred Ugochukwu to the NDLEA alongside a white Hummer bus handed over by the Nigeria Police Force in Delta State.
In another Delta operation, officers arrested 46-year-old Helen Bakporo Samson, a physically challenged woman, at Enhere Junction in Warri on Monday, 19 October. They recovered 6.0kg of skunk from her.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested 41-year-old Fajana Dada Oluwaseyi in the Adamasingba area of Ibadan on Monday, 19 October. The arrest followed his earlier escape when officers seized 197.8kg of cannabis sativa from his residence on 16 September.
In Kano State, a raid in the Gerawa area on Thursday, 22 October, led to the arrest of 30-year-old Murtala Lawan and the seizure of 159 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 97.2kg.
Taraba State recorded two separate interceptions on Friday, 23 October. At the Lankaviri checkpoint in Yorro Local Government Area, officers arrested 39-year-old Raiyanu Misa with 95 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 60.175kg. On the same day, the Nigeria Police Force handed over a suspect arrested at Dakka village in Bali Local Government Area with 112 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 81.49kg.
In Niger State, operatives arrested 26-year-old Emmanuel Ekene on Monday, 19 October, along the Sabo-Kainji road in Borgu Local Government Area. Officers recovered 64,000 opioid pills, including tramadol and diazepam.
In Bauchi State, NDLEA officers arrested 45-year-old Jamilu Mustapha, also known as Last Card, at Nasaru town in Ningi Local Government Area on Wednesday, 21 October. They seized 379kg of cannabis sativa packed into seven jumbo sacks.
Operations in Ondo and Edo states also yielded substantial quantities of cannabis.
JKNewsMedia.com also reports that ating on intelligence, NDLEA officers raided a farm at Board-Ala in Akure South, Ondo State, on Tuesday, 20 October. They recovered 56 abandoned bags of cannabis sativa weighing 583kg.
In Edo State, operatives destroyed two cannabis farms in Ugbada Forest, Uzebba, Owan West Local Government Area, on Sunday, 18 October. The farms had an estimated yield of 2,023.14kg. Officers also burnt 450kg of processed cannabis at the site and retained 97kg as an exhibit.
A related operation in Ewe community, Owan West, led to the arrest of 42-year-old Mary Edokhai with 35kg of the psychoactive substance.
Alongside its enforcement activities, the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign across schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities during the week.
The campaign included enlightenment lectures for students and staff at 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 other institutions.
NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CCEO), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended officers and personnel of the MMIA, Kano, Lagos, Bauchi, Niger, Edo, Ondo, Taraba, Oyo and Delta commands for their vigilance, diligence, professionalism and intelligence-led operations.
Marwa urged them and other personnel nationwide to sustain their efforts against drug trafficking and substance abuse.
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