The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 30-year-old Brazilian national, Ingrid Benevides, over an attempt to smuggle 30.09 kilograms of heroin into Nigeria through the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
According to the agency, the illicit drugs—estimated to be worth over ₦3 billion in street value—were hidden inside factory-sealed packs of coffee.
In a statement issued on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that Benevides was apprehended on Friday shortly after she arrived in Abuja aboard a Qatar Airways flight.
Babafemi explained that the suspect, who works as a private security officer in Brazil, had been placed under intelligence-led surveillance before her interception at the airport.
A thorough search of her two checked-in suitcases reportedly revealed 21 sealed packs of Brazilian coffee. However, upon inspection, the contents were discovered to be heroin rather than coffee.
“When the coffee bags were opened, rather than containing the beverage, what was found inside were white substances that later tested positive for heroin, weighing a total of 30.09 kilograms, making it the single largest heroin seizure at the Abuja airport,” the statement said.
“During her preliminary interview, the suspect claimed she brought the white heroin consignment under the guise of coming to Nigeria for holidays.”
Babafemi also revealed that NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, arrested two other suspects, Adediran Adedoyin and Afatakpa Ochuko, on January 20 as they attempted to travel to Istanbul, Turkey.
He said the duo were found in possession of 3,990 pills of tapentadol and tramadol concealed inside food items packed in their luggage.
“At the MMIA Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, 20th January intercepted two passengers: Adediran Adedoyin and Afatakpa Ochuko who were heading to Istanbul, Turkey, aboard a Turkish Airlines flight with a total of 3,990 pills of tapentadol 250mg and tramadol 225mg concealed in food items packed in their bags,” he stated.
In another operation, Babafemi said NDLEA officers attached to the Marine Command intercepted a wooden boat conveying 44 jumbo bags of Ghana Loud cannabis weighing 1,848 kilograms at Jakande Beach, Lekki, Lagos, in the early hours of January 22.
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“The shipment had barely arrived from Ghana when NDLEA officers acting on credible intelligence stormed the location around 1 am, recovered the consignment and the boat,” he said.
The agency also recorded arrests in Kaduna, where two suspects—Aminu Baba, 20, and Abdulrasheed Abubakar, 28—were apprehended in connection with two bags containing 140 packets of explosives intercepted along the Kaduna–Zaria highway.
Babafemi explained that the explosives were initially seized from a commercial bus, while the suspects were later tracked and arrested during follow-up operations in Kano and Kaduna.
He added that further intelligence-led operations across several states resulted in the seizure of tramadol, skunk, pentazocine injections, cannabis seeds and codeine syrup in Borno, Niger, Ekiti, Edo, Kano, Oyo, Benue, Lagos, Delta and Ondo states.
According to the NDLEA, the arrests are part of sustained efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks, disrupt cross-border smuggling and prevent illicit drugs from reaching criminal and terrorist groups.
Babafemi noted that the agency has intensified intelligence-driven operations targeting drug importation routes, distribution networks and local trafficking syndicates across the country.