Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 34-year-old South African woman, Qhina Beauty, with 36.65 kilograms of cocaine at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.
According to a statement on Sunday by the NDLEA, Qhina was arrested at the departure hall of the Lagos airport on 7th October 2026 while trying to board a Qatar Airways flight to South Africa via Doha.
The agency revealed that a search of her two travelling bags led to the recovery of 30 blocks of cocaine weighing 36.65kg, laced with dried pepper, wrapped in cello tape and packed into seven separate parcels.
According to an interview, she told operatives she arrived in Nigeria on 30th September specifically to pick up the consignment. She said she was recruited by another South African lady, who promised her R20,000 on successful delivery.
She claimed she was introduced to two other members of the syndicate: one based in the United States and the other a Lagos-based car dealer.
Investigations later led to the arrest, on 14th October, of the 46-year-old car dealer Uchenna Victor Umunnakwe, who was intercepted at Apple Junction, Ago Palace Way, Lagos, after days of surveillance at his Shasha residence. He admitted receiving Qhina at the airport, lodging her at Santiago Hotel in Amuwo-Odofin, and later moving her to Cynarisso Hotel near the airport, ahead of her departure.
