The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 34-year-old South African woman with 36.65 kilogrammes of cocaine and a 62-year-old Nigerian-American grandmother with 9.45kg of high-grade cannabis at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

In a statement issued on Sunday, October 25, 2026, by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the agency said the arrests were part of a series of operations across Lagos, Delta, Kano, Bauchi, Niger, Edo, Ondo, Taraba and Oyo states.

According to NDLEA, the South African, Qhina Beauty, was arrested on October 7, 2026, 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 led to the recovery of 30 blocks of cocaine weighing 36.65kg. The drugs were mixed with dried pepper, wrapped with cello tape and packed in seven separate parcels to evade detection.

During interrogation, she told operatives that she arrived in Nigeria on September 30 specifically to collect the consignment. She said she was recruited by another South African woman who promised to pay her R20,000 upon successful delivery in South Africa.

She also named two other members of the syndicate – one based in the United States and a Lagos-based car dealer.

Following further intelligence and surveillance, operatives arrested the car dealer, 46-year-old Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, on October 14 at Apple Junction, Ago Palace Way, Lagos. He reportedly admitted receiving Qhina at the airport and lodging her at Santiago Hotel in Amuwo-Odofin and later at Cynarisso Hotel near the airport.

In a separate operation on October 21, NDLEA arrested Anetor Gloria Ubong, a 62-year-old realtor based in Richmond, Texas, who holds both Nigerian and American passports. She arrived on a United Airlines flight from Houston.

A search of her two checked-in boxes revealed 18 parcels of Colorado loud weighing 9.45kg concealed with gift wrapping paper. She claimed her daughter and her daughter’s future brother-in-law delivered the box to her house in the US for onward delivery to her daughter’s fiancé, Jibola, in Nigeria.

The agency also recorded other major seizures across the country, including illicit drugs and pharmaceutical opioids.

Source: Punch Newspapers