Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
A 29-year-old Brazilian woman has been arrested at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja after attempting to smuggle an astonishing 30.09 kilograms of heroin into Nigeria, concealed within factory-sealed coffee packets.
The suspect, Ms. Ingrid Rosa Benevides, who claims to work as a private security officer in Brazil, was detained on Friday, 23rd January 2026, upon her arrival on a Qatar Airways flight. Acting on intelligence, NDLEA operatives searched her two checked-in bags, discovering 21 packets of what appeared to be Brazilian coffee.
Inside, however, was a white powder that tested positive for heroin, with an estimated street value of over three billion naira (£5.4 million). It marks the single largest heroin seizure at the Abuja airport.
The suspect stated she had entered the country under the guise of a holiday.
This dramatic intercept was part of a nationwide crackdown by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), resulting in a series of major seizures and arrests across multiple states.
In a separate operation targeting the supply of materials to terror groups, NDLEA officers in Borno state intercepted 179,590 pills of tramadol and diazepam hidden in sacks of charcoal and animal feed. The owner, Rabiu Imam, 32, was later arrested in Maiduguri.
Other significant operations included the seizure of two bags containing 140 packets of explosives destined for Kano and Kaduna, with two arrests made; the arrest of a 72-year-old grandfather, Afolalu Joseph, in Ekiti State for illicit drug dealing, with 62kg of skunk recovered; and the detention of a village head, Chief James Abamu, in Edo State after soldiers raided a camp and recovered 681kg of skunk and 181kg of cannabis seeds. The interception of a wooden boat carrying 1,848 kilograms of cannabis at a Lekki beach in Lagos, freshly arrived from Ghana, was also reported.
Further arrests and seizures of thousands of pills of tramadol, litres of codeine syrup, and large quantities of skunk were made in Lagos, Oyo, Delta, Ondo, Benue, the FCT, and Kano states.
While commending the officers involved, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged all commands to maintain their high standard of professionalism in both drug supply reduction and demand reduction activities.
The latter includes the Agency’s ongoing War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation lectures in schools, places of worship, and communities across the country.
