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 36.65 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

This comes after the NDLEA had arrested, prosecuted and jailed a 38-year-old South African lady, Ms Will Jessica Ann, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, after she was found to have concealed 14 large blocks of heroin weighing 5.75 kilograms in her luggage, using her three-year-old son as a cover to beat security checks and evade thorough screening earlier in the year.

The anti-graft agency also arrested a 62-year-old Nigerian-American grandmother with 9.45 kilograms of imported cannabis, known as loud.

Recall that just a few weeks ago, the NDLEA had rearrested another grandma for dealing in illicit drugs.

The arrests, made in separate operations at the Lagos airport, were part of a series of drug interdictions across the country that also led to the seizure of large consignments of cannabis, opioids and other controlled substances in several states.

NDLEA’s spokesperson Femi Babafemi said the South African suspect, identified as Qhina Beauty, was arrested on October 7 while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to South Africa via Doha.

A search of her two travelling bags uncovered 30 blocks of cocaine weighing 36.65kg, packaged in seven parcels and concealed with dried pepper and cello tape.

During interrogation, Beauty reportedly told investigators that she arrived in Nigeria on September 30 specifically to collect the consignment. She allegedly agreed to transport the drugs in exchange for R20,000 upon successful delivery.

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

Further investigations led to the arrest of a 46-year-old car dealer, Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, on October 14 at Apple Junction, Ago Palace Way, Lagos, following surveillance at his residence in Shasha.

According to the NDLEA, Umunnakwe admitted receiving Beauty at the airport and arranging accommodation for her at two hotels in Lagos ahead of her departure.

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

The agency said 18 parcels of loud, weighing 9.45kg, were found concealed in one of her two checked-in boxes and covered with gift-wrapping paper.

Ubong, who holds Nigerian and United States passports, reportedly told investigators that her daughter and the daughter’s future brother-in-law delivered the box to her home in the US for onward delivery in Nigeria to her daughter’s fiancé, identified as Jibola.

However , the NDLEA did not disclose whether further arrests had been made in connection with the consignment.

Beyond the airport interceptions, the agency reported seizures of pharmaceutical opioids, cannabis and other illicit substances in Delta, Lagos, Kano, Niger, Bauchi, Taraba, Oyo, Ondo and Edo states.

In Delta State, operatives arrested a 51-year-old suspect, Peter Ugochukwu, in Warri, recovering a large stock of pharmaceutical drugs, including 29,350 capsules of tramadol, 6,620 tablets of tramadol 200mg, 4,116 bottles of codeine syrup, 11,340 tablets of Rohypnol and 3,500 tablets of diazepam.

The consignment also included 300 ampoules of pentazocine injection, 200 ampoules of diazepam injection and quantities of tramadol 225mg, Molly and Cocodamol.

Ugochukwu was transferred to the NDLEA alongside a white Hummer bus by the Nigeria Police Force in Delta State.

In another operation in Warri, a 46-year-old physically challenged woman, Helen Bakporo Samson, was arrested at Enhere Junction on October 19 with 6kg of cannabis, locally known as skunk.

In Lagos, a special operations unit arrested 41-year-old Eletu Rasheedat in the Eti Osa area on October 23. Officers recovered 5,820 pills of diazepam, 780 tablets of tramadol, 3.7kg of skunk and 230.25 litres of skuchies, an alcoholic mixture associated with the misuse of psychoactive substances.

In Kano State, a raid in the Gerawa area on October 22 led to the arrest of 30-year-old Murtala Lawan and the seizure of 159 blocks of cannabis weighing 97.2kg.

In Taraba State, operatives intercepted Raiyanu Misa, 39, at the Lankaviri checkpoint in Yorro Local Government Area on October 23, recovering 95 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 60.175kg.

In Taraba State, operatives intercepted Raiyanu Misa, 39, at the Lankaviri checkpoint in Yorro Local Government Area on October 23, recovering 95 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 60.175kg.