NDLEA nabs South African woman with 36.65kg cocaine and Lagos car dealer

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a South African woman with 36.65kg of cocaine at Lagos airport. They also arrested a Lagos-based car dealer who is said to have helped her find a place to stay.

The agency also caught a Nigerian-American woman with 9.45kg of cannabis, known as loud, after she arrived from the United States.

In a statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi named the South African woman as Qhina Beauty, 34.

He said she was arrested on 7 October at the departure hall of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos. She was about to board a Qatar Airways flight to South Africa via Doha.

A search of her two bags revealed 30 blocks of cocaine weighing 36.65kg. The NDLEA stated the drugs were wrapped in Sellotape, split into seven parcels, and mixed with dried pepper.

Ms Beauty told investigators she arrived in Nigeria on 30 September to collect the package. She said another South African woman recruited her and promised to pay her 20,000 rand after the delivery.

She also named two other people involved in the scheme: one in the United States and the other a car dealer in Lagos, according to the statement.

The agency arrested the dealer, Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, 46, on 14 October at Apple Junction, Ago Palace Way, Lagos. He was watched closely at his home in Shasha before his arrest.

Mr Umunnakwe reportedly admitted to receiving Ms Beauty at the airport and arranging her stay at Santiago Hotel in Amuwo-Odofin.

Later, he moved her to Cynarisso Hotel close to the airport before her flight.

These arrests happen about two months after the NDLEA announced the seizure of 184.5kg of cocaine. This cocaine was valued at an estimated N39 billion in Lagos.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the cocaine was intercepted while being prepared for export through a courier service. This operation led to the arrests of Kazeem Afolabi, also known as KC Luxury, and Lawal Kehinde, who worked for the logistics company.

The NDLEA described Mr Afolabi as the alleged Nigerian coordinator of an international drug trafficking group.

They said this group used Nigeria as a stop to move cocaine from South America to the UK, other parts of Europe, and Asia.

The agency called this seizure the largest interception of cocaine through a courier service in its history.