The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency says it arrested a South African woman and a Nigerian-American woman in separate operations at Lagos airport involving 36.65kg of cocaine and 9.45kg of cannabis.
The agency disclosed the cases on Sunday, October 25, but said the airport arrests took place earlier in the month. Its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, identified the women as Qhina Beauty, 34, and Anetor Gloria Ubong, 62.
According to the NDLEA, Beauty was arrested at the departure hall of Murtala Muhammed International Airport on October 7 while attempting to board a Qatar Airways flight to South Africa through Doha.
Officers allegedly found 30 blocks of cocaine in her two travelling bags. The agency said the blocks weighed 36.65kg and were packed into seven parcels with dried pepper.
The NDLEA said Beauty told investigators she arrived in Nigeria on September 30 to collect the consignment and had been promised R20,000 for delivering it. These are allegations from the agency’s account of her interview, not court findings.
The agency said the investigation led to the October 14 arrest of Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, a 46-year-old car dealer, at Apple Junction in the Ago Palace Way area of Lagos. It alleged that he received Beauty at the airport and arranged accommodation for her before her planned departure.
In the other airport case, the NDLEA said Ubong was arrested on October 21 after arriving on a United Airlines flight from Houston. It described her as a realtor based in Richmond, Texas, who holds Nigerian and US passports.
Officers allegedly recovered 18 parcels of cannabis weighing 9.45kg from her checked-in luggage. The agency said Ubong told investigators that a box had been delivered to her US home by her daughter and the daughter’s future brother-in-law for onward delivery in Nigeria.
The statement also detailed operations outside the airport. It said officers arrested a suspect with 64,000 opioid pills on the Sabo-Kainji road in Niger State on October 19 and recovered 379kg of cannabis at Nasaru Town in Bauchi State on October 21.
The reports did not give court dates or details of charges filed in the airport cases.
Sources: Punch, Vanguard
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