Narcotics agents at Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport have foiled two major smuggling attempts, arresting a South African woman carrying nearly 37 kilograms of cocaine and a 62-year-old Nigerian-American grandmother who brought in a consignment of synthetic cannabis from the United States.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said the 34-year-old South African, Qhina Beauty, was caught with 36.65kg of cocaine, while Anetor Gloria Ubong, a Texas-based realtor, was found with 9.45kg of “loud,” a high-grade synthetic cannabis.
The agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
He added that in separate operations, officers recovered tons of illicit drugs in Kano, Lagos, Bauchi, Niger, Edo, Ondo, Taraba, Oyo and Delta states.
Qhina was arrested at the departure hall on 7th October 2026 as she tried to board a Qatar Airways flight to South Africa through Doha.
Her two travelling bags contained 30 blocks of cocaine, laced with dried pepper, wrapped in cello tape and packed in seven parcels.
She told investigators she arrived in Nigeria on 30th September for the sole purpose of collecting the consignment.
According to her, another South African woman recruited her and promised R20,000 on successful delivery.
She said she was introduced to two other syndicate members, one based in the United States and the other a Lagos car dealer.
Following her interview, operatives arrested the 46-year-old car dealer, Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, on 14th October at Apple Junction, Ago Palace Way, Lagos, after days of surveillance at his Shasha residence.
He admitted receiving Qhina at the airport, lodging her at Santiago Hotel in Amuwo-Odofin, and later moving her to Cynarisso Hotel near the airport before her departure.
In a separate operation at the same airport on Wednesday, 21st October, officers arrested Anetor, who holds both Nigerian and US passports, after she arrived on a United Airlines flight from Houston.
Her two checked-in boxes held 18 parcels of loud, concealed with gift wrapping paper. She claimed her daughter and the daughter’s future brother-in-law delivered the box to her home in the US, to be handed over in Nigeria to her daughter’s fiancé, Jibola.
Elsewhere in Lagos, a special operations unit arrested Eletu Rasheedat, 41, on Friday, 23rd October at Eti Osa. Officers recovered 5,820 pills of diazepam, 780 tablets of tramadol, 3.7kg of skunk and 230.25 litres of skuchies.
In Delta State, Peter Ugochukwu, 51, was arrested in Warri with a large cache of pharmaceutical opioids.
The haul included 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, along with quantities of tramadol 225mg, Molly and Cocodamol.
He was handed over by the Nigeria Police Force, Delta State, together with a white Hummer bus. In another arrest at Enhere Junction, Warri, Helen Bakporo Samson, a 46-year-old physically challenged woman, was caught on Monday, 19th October with 6.0kg of skunk.
In Ibadan, Oyo State, Fajana Dada Oluwaseyi, 41, was arrested on Monday, 19th October at Adamasingba. He had initially escaped when officers seized 197.8kg of cannabis sativa from his house on 16th September.
A raid in Gerawa, Kano, on Thursday, 22nd October led to the arrest of Murtala Lawan, 30, and the seizure of 159 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 97.2kg.
In Taraba State, officers at the Lankaviri checkpoint in Yorro LGA arrested Raiyanu Misa, 39, on Friday, 23rd October with 95 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 60.175kg.
The same day, the police handed over a suspect arrested at Dakka village, Bali LGA, with 112 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 81.49kg.
In Niger State, Emmanuel Ekene, 26, was arrested on Monday, 19th October on the Sabo-Kainji Road, Borgu LGA, with 64,000 pills of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.
In Bauchi State, officers arrested Jamilu Mustapha, also known as Last Card, 45, on Wednesday, 21st October at Nasaru Town, Ningi LGA, and seized 379kg of cannabis sativa packed in seven jumbo sacks.
Acting on intelligence, officers on Tuesday, 20th October raided a farm at Board-Ala, Akure South, Ondo State, and recovered 56 bags of abandoned cannabis sativa weighing 583kg.
In Edo State, two cannabis farms in Ugbada Forest, Uzebba, Owan West LGA, with an estimated yield of 2,023.14kg, were destroyed on Sunday, 18th October.
Operatives also burnt 450kg of processed cannabis at the site and took 97kg as exhibit. In a related operation at Ewe community, Owan West, Mary Edokhai, 42, was arrested with 35kg of the same substance.
Meanwhile, NDLEA commands across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities during the past week.
Lectures were held for students and staff of Oje Grammar School, Ibadan, Oyo State; Government Day Secondary School, Kwamba, Niger State; Baptist Primary School, Olorunda, Ogun State; Government Secondary School, Yalea, Kano; Community Secondary School, Igogoro, Enugu; Urban Girls Secondary School, Onitsha, Anambra; and Kelebe Community Grammar School, Osogbo, Osun State, among others.
The NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended the officers and men of the MMIA, Kano, Lagos, Bauchi, Niger, Edo, Ondo, Taraba, Oyo and Delta Commands for their vigilance, diligence, professionalism and intelligence-driven approach.
He urged them and their colleagues nationwide to sustain the tempo of the war against drug trafficking and substance abuse.
