NDLEA Busts Brazilian Woman With ₦3bn Heroin at Abuja Airport, Intercepts Explosives and Massive Drug Hauls Nationwide
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 30-year-old Brazilian national, Ms. Ingrid Rosa Benevides, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, with 30.09 kilograms of heroin concealed in factory-sealed coffee packs, valued at over ₦3 billion on the street.
Benevides, a private security officer in Brazil, was apprehended on Friday, January 23, 2026, upon her arrival aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431, following actionable intelligence. A search of her two checked-in bags revealed 21 sealed packs of Brazilian coffee which, upon examination, were found to contain heroin instead of the beverage. The seizure represents the largest single heroin interception ever recorded at the Abuja airport. The suspect claimed during preliminary interrogation that she travelled to Nigeria on holiday.
In a related development at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, January 20, intercepted two outbound passengers, Adediran Adedoyin and Afatakpa Ochuko, en route to Istanbul, Turkey. The duo were found with 3,990 pills of tapentadol 250mg and tramaking 225mg concealed in food items packed in their luggage.
Meanwhile, operatives of the Agency’s Marine Command, acting on credible intelligence, intercepted a wooden boat at Jakande Beach, Lekki, Lagos, in the early hours of Thursday, January 22. The boat, which had just arrived from Ghana, was laden with 44 jumbo bags of Ghana Loud cannabis weighing 1,848 kilograms.
In the North-West, NDLEA operatives arrested two suspects, Aminu Ali Baba, 20, and Abdulrasheed Abubakar, 28, in connection with the interception of two bags containing 140 packets of explosives being transported to Kano and Kaduna. The explosives were intercepted in a commercial bus along the Kaduna–Zaria highway. Further intelligence-led operations led to the arrest of Fatima Ibrahim, 42, and Adejimoh Ismaila, 44, at Kwangila, Zaria LGA, Kaduna State, with 120 kilograms of skunk recovered.
As part of efforts to disrupt drug supply chains linked to terrorism, NDLEA officers in Borno State on Wednesday, January 21, intercepted 179,590 pills of tramadol and diazepam concealed in sacks of charcoal and animal feed in a vehicle from Potiskum, Yobe State. A follow-up operation in Bulabulin, Maiduguri, led to the arrest of the owner, Rabiu Imam, 32.
In Niger and Kwara States, NDLEA operatives arrested Mrs. Eze Cynthia Chioma in Mokwa, Niger State, following the seizure of 78,500 pills of tramadol earlier intercepted at Bode Saadu, Kwara State, in a truck from Lagos. Her husband is currently remanded in prison for a similar offence.
In Ekiti State, a 72-year-old suspect, Afolalu Joseph, was arrested alongside Abu Bunmi, alias “Go Slow,” with 62 kilograms of skunk recovered from them. In Edo State, a village head, Chief James Abamu, and another suspect were taken into custody after a joint operation with the Nigerian Army led to the recovery of 681kg of skunk and 181kg of cannabis seeds in Esan South East LGA.
Other arrests include the seizure of 1,000 ampoules of pentazocine in Kano; 181.5 litres of “skuchies” in Ibadan, Oyo State; 210kg and 254.5kg of skunk in Benue State and the FCT respectively; 39,800 pills of tramadol in Lagos; over 30,000 pills of assorted opioids and 20 litres of codeine syrup in Delta State; and 1,500kg of skunk in Ondo State.
Across the country, NDLEA officers also intensified their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns in schools and communities nationwide.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged personnel across all commands to sustain professionalism and commitment in both drug supply and demand reduction efforts.
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