In a relentless nationwide crackdown on narcotics, operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted major international drug shipments at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos. The high-profile arrests include Qhina Beauty, a 34-year-old South African woman caught with 36.65 kilograms of cocaine, and Anetor Gloria Ubong, a 62-year-old Nigerian-American grandmother smuggling 9.45 kilograms of high-grade cannabis—popularly known as ‘Loud’—imported from the United States.
According to a statement released on Sunday, October 25, by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, these breakthroughs were achieved through a series of coordinated, separate operations. Beyond the airport interceptions, anti-narcotic officers recovered tons of illicit drug consignments during sweeping raids across Kano, Lagos, Bauchi, Niger, Edo, Ondo, Taraba, Oyo, and Delta states.
Beauty was intercepted 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 thorough search of her two travel bags uncovered 30 blocks of cocaine, weighing 36.65kg. To evade detection, the contraband was laced with dried pepper, wrapped in cellophane tape, and tightly packed into seven separate parcels.
During interrogation, the suspect confessed to operatives that she arrived in Nigeria on September 30 specifically to traffic the consignment. She revealed she was recruited by another South African woman who promised her a payout of R20,000 upon successful delivery.
The suspect further disclosed that she had been introduced to two other members of the syndicate—one based in the United States and the other a Lagos-based car dealer.
Following intense surveillance, follow-up investigations led to the October 14 arrest of 46-year-old car dealer Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe. Agency operatives cornered Umunnakwe at Apple Junction along Ago Palace Way in Lagos, after monitoring his residence in the Shasha area for days. Upon interrogation, he admitted to receiving the South African suspect, Beauty, at the airport, lodging her first at the Santiago Hotel in Amuwo-Odofin, and later relocating her to the Cynarisso Hotel near the airport just ahead of her scheduled departure.
In a separate airport interdiction on Wednesday, October 21, NDLEA officers intercepted 62-year-old grandmother Anetor Gloria Ubong. Ubong, a dual Nigerian and US citizen, works as a realtor based in Richmond, Texas.
She was taken into custody immediately after arriving on a United Airlines flight from Houston. A meticulous search of her two checked-in bags exposed 18 parcels of ‘Loud’—a potent synthetic cannabis strain weighing 9.45kg—disguised in decorative gift-wrapping paper inside one of the boxes.
During interrogation, the grandmother claimed the luggage was delivered to her home in the United States by her daughter and her daughter’s future brother-in-law. She maintained that the consignment was meant for onward delivery in Nigeria to her daughter’s fiancé, identified simply as Jibola.
Expanding the dragnet, a special operations unit of the agency descended on Eti-Osa, Lagos, on Friday, October 23, arresting 41-year-old Eletu Rasheedat. Operatives at the scene recovered a sophisticated cocktail of illicit substances, including 5,820 diazepam pills, 780 tramadol tablets, 3.7kg of skunk, and 230.25 litres of the potent local concoction known as ‘Skuchies.’
In Delta State, the anti-narcotics agency intercepted 51-year-old Peter Ugochukwu in the commercial hub of Warri. Ugochukwu was caught warehousing a massive pharmaceutical opioid stockpile, which included:
- 35,970 tramadol variants (comprising 29,350 capsules and 6,620 high-strength 200mg tablets).
- 11,340 tablets of Rohypnol.
- 4,116 bottles of codeine syrup.
- 3,500 tablets of diazepam.
- 500 liquid ampoules (300 pentazocine and 200 diazepam injections).
- Commercial quantities of tramadol 225mg, Molly, and Cocodamol.
The suspect, along with a white operational Hummer bus used for distributing the contraband, was successfully transferred to the agency by the Delta State Command of the Nigeria Police Force.
In a separate, high-interest Warri intervention at Enerhen Junction on Monday, October 19, NDLEA operatives arrested Helen Bakporo Samson, a 46-year-old physically challenged woman, in possession of 6.0kg of skunk.
Meanwhile, in Oyo State, 41-year-old fugitive Fajana Dada Oluwaseyi was finally cornered and arrested on Monday, October 19, at Adamasingba, Ibadan. Oluwaseyi had been on the run since September 16, when agency officers stormed his residence and confiscated a staggering 197.8kg of cannabis sativa.
In Ondo State, acting on actionable intelligence, anti-narcotic forces raided a plantation at Board-Ala in Akure South on Tuesday, October 20. The tactical team recovered 56 abandoned bags of cannabis sativa tipping the scales at 583kg.
The nationwide enforcement sweep yielded massive logistical disruptions against drug syndicates across several other states:
- Edo State: Operatives invaded the Ugbada Forest in Uzebba, Owan West LGA, on Sunday, October 18, completely destroying two massive cannabis farms boasting an estimated crop yield of 2,023.14kg. While 450kg of processed cannabis was set ablaze on-site, 97kg was seized as evidence. A linked raid at Ewe community led to the arrest of 42-year-old Mary Edokhai with 35kg of the same illicit herb.
- Bauchi State: On Wednesday, October 21, tactical teams infiltrated Nasaru Town in Ningi LGA, apprehending 45-year-old Jamilu Mustapha (alias Last Card) and seizing 379kg of cannabis packed tightly into seven jumbo sacks.
- Kano State: A well-coordinated raid in the Gerawa area on Thursday, October 22, led to the arrest of Murtala Lawan, 30, and the recovery of 159 compressed blocks of cannabis weighing 97.2kg.
- Taraba State: At the Lankaviri checkpoint in Yorro LGA on Friday, October 23, operatives flagged down 39-year-old Raiyanu Misa, discovering 95 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 60.175kg. That same day, police authorities at Dakka village in Bali LGA handed over another suspect caught with 112 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 81.49kg.
- Niger State: On Monday, October 19, 26-year-old Emmanuel Ekene was intercepted along the Sabo-Kainji road in Borgu LGA with a haul of 64,000 illicit opioid pills consisting of tramadol and diazepam.
Alongside these high-intensity interdictions, commands and formations across the country intensified their grassroots advocacy through the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative over the past week. The agency deployed sensitization campaigns across academic institutions, workplaces, faith-based centers, and local communities to fortify public resistance against substance abuse.
Key educational outreach programs were successfully conducted at several institutions, including:
- Oje Grammar School in Ibadan, Oyo State.
- Government Day Secondary School in Kwamba, Niger State.
- Baptist Primary School in Olorunda, Ogun State.
- Government Secondary School in Yalea, Kano State.
- Community Secondary School in Igogoro, Enugu State.
- Urban Girls Secondary School in Onitsha, Anambra State.
- Kelebe Community Grammar School in Osogbo, Osun State
Reacting to the sweeping successes, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, 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.
Marwa praised their vigilance, clinical precision, and intelligence-led tactical approach to the operations.
He charged the personnel and their counterparts across all local formations to relentlessly sustain the momentum in dismantling international drug trafficking rings and cleansing Nigerian communities of substance abuse.
