A 62-year-old Nigerian-American grandmother and a 34-year-old South African woman have been arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in separate operations at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, over alleged drug trafficking.
The grandmother, identified as Anetor Gloria Ubong, was arrested after arriving from Houston, Texas, in the United States, with 9.45 kilogrammes of a high-grade cannabis strain known as loud, allegedly concealed in one of her checked-in boxes.
The South African woman, Qhina Beauty, was arrested while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to South Africa via Doha with 36.65kg of cocaine hidden in her luggage.
The NDLEA in a statement issued on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, said Ubong, 62, is a realtor based in Richmond, Texas, and holds both Nigerian and United States passports.
According to the agency, she was arrested on Wednesday, October 21, following her arrival on a United Airlines flight from Houston.
A search of her two checked-in boxes reportedly uncovered 18 parcels of loud concealed with gift-wrapping paper.
During questioning, Ubong allegedly told investigators that her daughter and the daughter’s prospective brother-in-law had delivered the box to her home in the United States.
She claimed she was asked to bring the consignment to Nigeria for delivery to her daughter’s fiancé, identified as Jibola.
The agency did not disclose whether the daughter, the prospective brother-in-law or the intended recipient had been arrested or formally questioned in connection with the alleged trafficking operation.
In a separate operation, Beauty was arrested at the Lagos airport departure hall on October 7 while preparing to leave Nigeria for South Africa through Doha.
NDLEA operatives reportedly discovered 30 blocks of cocaine weighing 36.65kg in her two travelling bags. The substance had allegedly been mixed with dried pepper, wrapped in cello tape and packed into seven separate parcels.
Beauty reportedly told investigators that she arrived in Nigeria on September 30 specifically to collect the consignment.
She allegedly said another South African woman recruited her and promised to pay her 20,000 South African rand upon successful delivery of the drugs.
The suspect also reportedly identified two other alleged members of the trafficking network — one based in the United States and another, a Lagos-based car dealer.
The NDLEA said subsequent investigations led to the arrest of the car dealer, 46-year-old Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, on October 14 at Apple Junction, Ago Palace Way, Lagos, after days of surveillance at his residence in Shasha.
Umunnakwe allegedly admitted receiving Beauty at the airport, lodging her at Santiago Hotel in Amuwo-Odofin and subsequently moving her to Cynarisso Hotel near the airport ahead of her departure.
The arrests formed part of a series of operations in which the agency said it seized large quantities of illicit drugs across Lagos, Delta, Kano, Taraba, Niger, Bauchi, Ondo, Edo and Oyo states.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives on October 23 arrested 41-year-old Eletu Rasheedat in the Eti-Osa area, recovering 5,820 diazepam pills, 780 tramadol tablets, 3.7kg of skunk and 230.25 litres of a locally produced alcoholic-drug mixture known as skuchies.
In Delta State, operatives arrested 51-year-old Peter Ugochukwu in Warri and recovered thousands of pharmaceutical opioid products, including 29,350 tramadol capsules, 6,620 tablets of tramadol 200mg, 4,116 bottles of codeine syrup, 11,340 Rohypnol tablets and 3,500 diazepam tablets.
The agency also recovered 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 skunk.
In Ibadan, Oyo State, 41-year-old Fajana Dada Oluwaseyi was arrested on October 19 after allegedly escaping an earlier attempt to apprehend him.
The NDLEA said officers had seized 197.8kg of cannabis from his residence on September 16 before his subsequent arrest.
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, officers arrested 39-year-old Raiyanu Misa at the Lankaviri checkpoint in Yorro Local Government Area on October 23 with 95 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 60.175kg.
On the same day, the police handed over another suspect arrested in Dakka village, Bali Local Government Area, 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, at Nasaru town in Ningi Local Government Area on October 21 and seized 379kg of cannabis packed in seven large sacks.
Meanwhile, an intelligence-led operation at a farm in Board-Ala, Akure South, Ondo State, on October 20 led to the recovery of 56 abandoned bags of cannabis weighing 583kg.
In Edo State, operatives destroyed two cannabis farms in Ugbada Forest, Uzebba, Owan West Local Government Area, on October 18.
The farms had an estimated yield of 2,023.14kg of cannabis. Officers also destroyed 450kg of processed cannabis at the site and took another 97kg as exhibits.
A 42-year-old woman, Mary Edokhai, was also arrested in a related operation at Ewe community in Owan West with 35kg of cannabis.
The NDLEA said its commands also continued public awareness campaigns under its War Against Drug Abuse initiative, targeting schools, religious centres, workplaces and communities.
The agency’s chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain efforts against drug trafficking and substance abuse.
