The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 34-year-old South African woman, Qhina Beauty, with 36.65kg of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, and a 62-year-old Nigerian-American grandmother, Anetor Gloria Ubong, with 9.45kg of high-grade cannabis, popularly known as loud.
The arrests were among a series of operations carried out by the agency across Kano, Lagos, Bauchi, Niger, Edo, Ondo, Taraba, Oyo and Delta states, during which large consignments of illicit drugs were seized and several suspects arrested.
Qhina was arrested at the departure hall of the Lagos airport on October 7, 2026, while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to South Africa through Doha.
A search of her two travel bags led to the recovery of 30 blocks of cocaine weighing 36.65kg. The drug was laced with dried pepper, wrapped in cello tape and concealed in seven separate parcels. 
During interrogation, the suspect reportedly told NDLEA operatives that she arrived in Nigeria on September 30 to collect the consignment.
She allegedly said another South African woman recruited her and promised to pay her R20,000 after successfully delivering the cocaine.
She also reportedly disclosed that she was introduced to two other members of the syndicate, one based in the United States and another, a Lagos-based car dealer.
Following further investigation, NDLEA operatives arrested 46-year-old car dealer, Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, on October 14 at Apple Junction, Ago Palace Way, Lagos.
Umunnakwe was intercepted after days of surveillance at his residence in Shasha.
According to the agency, he admitted receiving Qhina at the airport, taking her to Santiago Hotel in Amuwo-Odofin and later moving her to Cynarisso Hotel near the airport ahead of her scheduled departure.
In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, October 21, arrested Ubong, a 62-year-old realtor based in Richmond, Texas, who holds Nigerian and United States passports.
The grandmother was arrested after arriving on a United Airlines flight from Houston.
A search of her two checked-in boxes uncovered 18 parcels of loud weighing 9.45kg.
The drug was concealed in a box and wrapped with gift paper.
Ubong reportedly told investigators that the package was delivered to her home in the United States by her daughter and her daughter’s prospective brother-in-law for onward delivery in Nigeria to her daughter’s fiancé, identified as Jibola.
Meanwhile, operatives of an NDLEA special operations unit on Friday, October 23, arrested 41-year-old Eletu Rasheedat in the Eti-Osa area of Lagos.
The agency said 5,820 pills of diazepam, 780 tablets of tramadol, 3.7kg of skunk and 230.25 litres of skuchies were recovered from the suspect.
In Delta State, NDLEA operatives arrested 51-year-old Peter Ugochukwu in Warri and recovered a large consignment of pharmaceutical opioids.
The seizure included 29,350 capsules of tramadol, 6,620 tablets of 200mg tramadol, 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.
Quantities of 225mg tramadol, Molly and Cocodamol were also recovered.
Ugochukwu was transferred to the NDLEA along with a white Hummer bus handed over by the Nigeria Police Force in Delta State.
In another operation at Enhere Junction, Warri, a 46-year-old physically challenged woman, Helen Bakporo Samson, was arrested on Monday, October 19, with 6kg of skunk.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested 41-year-old Fajana Dada Oluwaseyi on October 19 in the Adamasingba area of Ibadan.
The suspect had allegedly escaped arrest after NDLEA officers recovered 197.8kg of cannabis sativa from his residence on September 16.
In Kano State, a raid at Gerawa on Thursday, October 22, led to the arrest of 30-year-old Murtala Lawan and the seizure of 159 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 97.2kg.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives at the Lankaviri checkpoint in Yorro Local Government Area of Taraba State arrested 39-year-old Raiyanu Misa on Friday, October 23, with 95 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 60.175kg.
The same day, the Nigeria Police Force handed over another suspect arrested at Dakka village in Bali Local Government Area of the state, along with 112 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 81.49kg.
In Niger State, 26-year-old Emmanuel Ekene was arrested on October 19 along the Sabo-Kainji Road in Borgu Local Government Area with 64,000 pills of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.
In Bauchi State, NDLEA officers arrested 45-year-old Jamilu Mustapha, also known as Last Card, on October 21 at Nasaru Town in Ningi Local Government Area.
A total of 379kg of cannabis sativa packed in seven jumbo sacks was recovered from him.
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence on October 20 raided a farm at Board-Ala, Akure South Local Government Area, where they recovered 56 bags of abandoned cannabis sativa weighing 583kg.
In Edo State, two cannabis farms in Ugbada Forest, Uzebba, Owan West Local Government Area, were destroyed on October 18.
The agency estimated the farms’ yield at 2,023.14kg.
Operatives also destroyed 450kg of processed cannabis at the site while 97kg was taken away as exhibits.
In a related operation at Ewe community in Owan West, NDLEA officers arrested 42-year-old Mary Edokhai with 35kg of cannabis.
Beyond arrests and seizures, NDLEA commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The agency said the activities included enlightenment lectures at Oje Grammar School, 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 others.
Commending officers and men of the MMIA, Kano, Lagos, Bauchi, Niger, Edo, Ondo, Taraba, Oyo and Delta commands, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged them to sustain the agency’s intelligence-driven operations against drug trafficking and substance abuse.
Marwa also called on NDLEA personnel across the country to maintain the momentum in the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse campaign.
NDLEA Nabs South African Woman With 36.65kg Cocaine, US-Based Grandma With ‘Loud’+Photos
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 34-year-old South African woman, Qhina Beauty, with 36.65kg of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, and a 62-year-old Nigerian-American grandmother, Anetor Gloria Ubong, with 9.45kg of high-grade cannabis, popularly known as loud.
The arrests were among a series of operations carried out by the agency across Kano, Lagos, Bauchi, Niger, Edo, Ondo, Taraba, Oyo and Delta states, during which large consignments of illicit drugs were seized and several suspects arrested.
Qhina was arrested at the departure hall of the Lagos airport on October 7, 2026, while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to South Africa through Doha.
A search of her two travel bags led to the recovery of 30 blocks of cocaine weighing 36.65kg. The drug was laced with dried pepper, wrapped in cello tape and concealed in seven separate parcels.
During interrogation, the suspect reportedly told NDLEA operatives that she arrived in Nigeria on September 30 to collect the consignment.
She allegedly said another South African woman recruited her and promised to pay her R20,000 after successfully delivering the cocaine.
She also reportedly disclosed that she was introduced to two other members of the syndicate, one based in the United States and another, a Lagos-based car dealer.
Following further investigation, NDLEA operatives arrested 46-year-old car dealer, Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, on October 14 at Apple Junction, Ago Palace Way, Lagos.
Umunnakwe was intercepted after days of surveillance at his residence in Shasha.
According to the agency, he admitted receiving Qhina at the airport, taking her to Santiago Hotel in Amuwo-Odofin and later moving her to Cynarisso Hotel near the airport ahead of her scheduled departure.
In a separate operation at the Lagos airport, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, October 21, arrested Ubong, a 62-year-old realtor based in Richmond, Texas, who holds Nigerian and United States passports.
The grandmother was arrested after arriving on a United Airlines flight from Houston.
A search of her two checked-in boxes uncovered 18 parcels of loud weighing 9.45kg.
The drug was concealed in a box and wrapped with gift paper.
Ubong reportedly told investigators that the package was delivered to her home in the United States by her daughter and her daughter’s prospective brother-in-law for onward delivery in Nigeria to her daughter’s fiancé, identified as Jibola.
Meanwhile, operatives of an NDLEA special operations unit on Friday, October 23, arrested 41-year-old Eletu Rasheedat in the Eti-Osa area of Lagos.
The agency said 5,820 pills of diazepam, 780 tablets of tramadol, 3.7kg of skunk and 230.25 litres of skuchies were recovered from the suspect.
In Delta State, NDLEA operatives arrested 51-year-old Peter Ugochukwu in Warri and recovered a large consignment of pharmaceutical opioids.
The seizure included 29,350 capsules of tramadol, 6,620 tablets of 200mg tramadol, 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.
Quantities of 225mg tramadol, Molly and Cocodamol were also recovered.
Ugochukwu was transferred to the NDLEA along with a white Hummer bus handed over by the Nigeria Police Force in Delta State.
In another operation at Enhere Junction, Warri, a 46-year-old physically challenged woman, Helen Bakporo Samson, was arrested on Monday, October 19, with 6kg of skunk.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested 41-year-old Fajana Dada Oluwaseyi on October 19 in the Adamasingba area of Ibadan.
The suspect had allegedly escaped arrest after NDLEA officers recovered 197.8kg of cannabis sativa from his residence on September 16.
In Kano State, a raid at Gerawa on Thursday, October 22, led to the arrest of 30-year-old Murtala Lawan and the seizure of 159 blocks of cannabis sativa weighing 97.2kg.
Similarly, NDLEA operatives at the Lankaviri checkpoint in Yorro Local Government Area of Taraba State arrested 39-year-old Raiyanu Misa on Friday, October 23, with 95 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 60.175kg.
The same day, the Nigeria Police Force handed over another suspect arrested at Dakka village in Bali Local Government Area of the state, along with 112 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 81.49kg.
In Niger State, 26-year-old Emmanuel Ekene was arrested on October 19 along the Sabo-Kainji Road in Borgu Local Government Area with 64,000 pills of opioids, including tramadol and diazepam.
In Bauchi State, NDLEA officers arrested 45-year-old Jamilu Mustapha, also known as Last Card, on October 21 at Nasaru Town in Ningi Local Government Area.
A total of 379kg of cannabis sativa packed in seven jumbo sacks was recovered from him.
In Ondo State, NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence on October 20 raided a farm at Board-Ala, Akure South Local Government Area, where they recovered 56 bags of abandoned cannabis sativa weighing 583kg.
In Edo State, two cannabis farms in Ugbada Forest, Uzebba, Owan West Local Government Area, were destroyed on October 18.
The agency estimated the farms’ yield at 2,023.14kg.
Operatives also destroyed 450kg of processed cannabis at the site while 97kg was taken away as exhibits.
In a related operation at Ewe community in Owan West, NDLEA officers arrested 42-year-old Mary Edokhai with 35kg of cannabis.
Beyond arrests and seizures, NDLEA commands and formations across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities.
The agency said the activities included enlightenment lectures at Oje Grammar School, 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 others.
Commending officers and men of the MMIA, Kano, Lagos, Bauchi, Niger, Edo, Ondo, Taraba, Oyo and Delta commands, the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged them to sustain the agency’s intelligence-driven operations against drug trafficking and substance abuse.
Marwa also called on NDLEA personnel across the country to maintain the momentum in the agency’s War Against Drug Abuse campaign.
