NDLEA Arrests South African Woman, US-Based Grandma With Cocaine, Cannabis

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 34-year-old South African woman with 36.65kg of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The agency also apprehended a 62-year-old Nigerian-American grandmother with 9.45kg of high-grade cannabis, known as loud, allegedly brought into the country from the United States.

The arrests formed part of a series of anti-drug operations that yielded large consignments of illicit substances across several states, including Lagos, Delta, Kano, Niger, Bauchi, Edo, Ondo, Taraba and Oyo.

The NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed the arrests in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja.

Babafemi said operatives arrested the South African suspect, Qhina Beauty, on October 7 while she prepared to board a Qatar Airways flight to South Africa through Doha.

A search of her two travel bags uncovered 30 blocks of cocaine weighing 36.65kg. The consignment had been mixed with dried pepper, wrapped in cellophane and packed into seven separate parcels.

During questioning, Beauty reportedly told investigators that she arrived in Nigeria on September 30 specifically to collect the drugs. She claimed another South African woman recruited her and promised to pay her 20,000 rand after delivery.

She also identified two other alleged members of the trafficking network, one based in the United States and the other a Lagos car dealer.

Further investigations led to the arrest of the car dealer, 46-year-old Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, on October 14 at Apple Junction, Ago Palace Way, Lagos. Officers had reportedly monitored his residence in Shasha before intercepting him.

According to the statement, Umunnakwe admitted receiving Beauty at the airport and arranging her accommodation at Santiago Hotel in Amuwo-Odofin. He later moved her to Cynarisso Hotel near the airport ahead of her planned departure.

In a separate operation, NDLEA officers arrested Anetor Gloria Ubong, a 62-year-old realtor based in Richmond, Texas, following her arrival from Houston aboard a United Airlines flight on October 21.

The grandmother, who holds Nigerian and United States passports, allegedly concealed 18 parcels of loud weighing 9.45kg inside one of her two checked-in boxes.

She reportedly told investigators that her daughter and the daughter’s future brother-in-law delivered the box to her home in the US. They allegedly asked her to bring it to Nigeria for her daughter’s fiancé, identified as Jibola.

Meanwhile, a special operations team arrested 41-year-old Eletu Rasheedat in the Eti-Osa area of Lagos on October 23. 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 over a large cache of pharmaceutical opioids. The seizure included 29,350 tramadol capsules, 6,620 tablets of tramadol 200mg, 4,116 bottles of codeine syrup and 11,340 Rohypnol tablets.

Officers also recovered 3,500 diazepam tablets, 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 200 ampoules of diazepam injection and quantities of tramadol 225mg, Molly and Cocodamol.

The suspect and a white Hummer bus were transferred to the agency by the Nigeria Police Force in Delta State.

In another operation in Warri, officers arrested 46-year-old Helen Bakporo Samson, a physically challenged woman, at Enhere Junction on October 19. They allegedly found 6kg of skunk in her possession.

In Ibadan, Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested 41-year-old Fajana Dada Oluwaseyi on October 19. The agency said he had earlier escaped arrest after officers seized 197.8kg of cannabis from his house on September 16.

Operations in the northern part of the country also yielded substantial drug seizures. In Kano, officers arrested 30-year-old Murtala Lawan in the Gerawa area on October 22 and recovered 159 blocks of cannabis weighing 97.2kg.

At the Lankaviri checkpoint in Yorro Local Government Area of Taraba State, officers arrested 39-year-old Raiyanu Misa on October 23 with 95 compressed cannabis blocks weighing 60.175kg.

The same day, police transferred another suspect to the NDLEA after arresting him at Dakka village in Bali Local Government Area. Officers recovered 112 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 81.49kg.

In Niger State, operatives arrested 26-year-old Emmanuel Ekene on the Sabo-Kainji Road in Borgu Local Government Area on October 19. They seized 64,000 opioid pills, including tramadol and diazepam.

Bauchi State officers also arrested 45-year-old Jamilu Mustapha, popularly known as Last Card, at Nasaru town in Ningi Local Government Area on October 21. The operation yielded 379kg of cannabis packed in seven large sacks.

In Ondo State, intelligence-led officers raided a farm at Board-Ala in Akure South on October 20 and recovered 56 abandoned bags of cannabis weighing 583kg.

The agency also destroyed two cannabis farms in Ugbada Forest, Uzebba, Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State, on October 18. The farms had an estimated yield of 2,023.14kg.

Officers burnt 450kg of processed cannabis at the site and took another 97kg as exhibits. In a related operation at Ewe community in Owan West, they arrested 42-year-old Mary Edokhai with 35kg of cannabis.

Beyond the arrests and seizures, the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse campaign through sensitisation programmes in schools and communities across the country.

The activities included lectures at Oje Grammar School in Ibadan, Government Day Secondary School in Kwamba, Niger State, and Government Secondary School in Yalea, Kano State. Other sessions took place in Ogun, Enugu, Anambra and Osun states.

NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers across the affected commands for their vigilance and intelligence-led operations.

He urged personnel nationwide to sustain their efforts against drug trafficking and substance abuse.