Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has arrested a 34-year-old South African woman with 36.65 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, alongside a 62-year-old Nigerian-American grandmother allegedly caught with 9.45 kilogrammes of imported cannabis.
The arrests were recorded during intelligence-led operations across nine states, resulting in the seizure of large quantities of illicit drugs and pharmaceutical opioids.
The NDLEA says Qhina Beauty was arrested on October seventh while preparing to board a Qatar Airways flight to South Africa via Doha.
A search of her two bags reportedly uncovered 30 blocks of cocaine concealed with dried pepper.
The suspect allegedly told investigators that she travelled to Nigeria specifically to collect the drugs in exchange for a promised payment of 20,000 South African rand.
Further investigations led to the arrest of a 46-year-old Lagos car dealer, Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, on October fourteenth. He allegedly received the woman at the airport and arranged accommodation for her before her planned departure.
In a separate operation, officers arrested Anetor Gloria Ubong, a 62-year-old Nigerian-American realtor based in Richmond, Texas, following her arrival from Houston aboard a United Airlines flight on October twenty-first.
According to the agency, 18 parcels of cannabis, popularly known as loud, weighing 9.45 kilogrammes, were discovered in her checked luggage.
She reportedly claimed that her daughter and the daughter’s future brother-in-law had arranged for the consignment to be delivered to her home in the United States for onward delivery to her daughter’s fiancé in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, operations in Lagos led to the arrest of 41-year-old Eletu Rasheedat in Eti-Osa, with officers recovering thousands of diazepam and tramadol tablets, 3.7 kilogrammes of skunk and more than 230 litres of a locally produced alcoholic-drug mixture known as skuchies.
In Delta State, officers arrested 51-year-old Peter Ugochukwu in Warri, seizing tens of thousands of tramadol capsules, thousands of tramadol, Rohypnol and diazepam tablets, more than four thousand bottles of codeine syrup and other controlled substances.
A physically challenged woman, 46-year-old Helen Bakporo Samson, was also arrested at Enhere Junction in Warri with six kilogrammes of skunk.
Other operations yielded additional seizures across the country.
In Ibadan, officers recovered 197.8 kilogrammes of cannabis linked to a suspect who was subsequently arrested. Another 97.2 kilogrammes was seized in Kano, while 60.175 kilogrammes was recovered in Taraba State, alongside a separate consignment of 81.49 kilogrammes handed over by the police.
In Niger State, 26-year-old Emmanuel Ekene was arrested with 64,000 opioid pills, including tramadol and diazepam.
In Bauchi State, officers arrested 45-year-old Jamilu Mustapha, also known as Last Card, with 379 kilogrammes of cannabis.
A raid on a farm in Akure South, Ondo State, yielded 583 kilogrammes of abandoned cannabis, while operations in Edo State led to the destruction of two cannabis farms containing an estimated 2,023.14 kilogrammes of the substance. Officers also destroyed 450 kilogrammes of processed cannabis and recovered another 97 kilogrammes as exhibits. A 42-year-old suspect, Mary Edokhai, was arrested in a related operation.
The NDLEA says its commands are also continuing public awareness campaigns in schools and communities under its War Against Drug Abuse initiative.
Commending the officers involved, the agency’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa, retired, called on personnel nationwide to sustain intelligence-led operations and remain vigilant and professional in combating drug trafficking and substance abuse.
The agency says the operations form part of its continuing efforts to disrupt drug supply networks and curb the circulation of illicit substances across Nigeria.
