Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a 30-year-old Brazilian national, Ingrid Benevides, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, with 30.09 kilograms of heroin worth over N3 billion. The arrest, made on Friday, January 23, 2026, marks the single largest heroin seizure at the Abuja airport.
The agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, in a statement on Sunday, revealed that the suspect, a private security officer from Brazil, arrived aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431. Following intelligence-led surveillance, a search of her two checked-in bags uncovered 21 factory-sealed packs of Brazilian coffee. Upon closer inspection, the packs were found to contain white substances that tested positive for heroin.
Babafemi detailed the suspect's initial claims, stating, “In her preliminary interview, the suspect claimed she brought the heroin consignment under the guise of coming to Nigeria for holidays.” The 30.09kg haul underscores the sophisticated methods employed by international drug trafficking syndicates.
In related operations, Babafemi reported multiple other significant busts across the country. At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, two passengers bound for Istanbul, Turkey—Adediran Adedoyin and Afatakpa Ochuko—were intercepted on January 20 with 3,990 pills of tapentadol and tramaking concealed in food items.
In a separate marine operation, NDLEA officers intercepted a wooden boat at Jakande Beach, Lekki, Lagos, in the early hours of January 22. The vessel, arriving from Ghana, was loaded with 44 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa (Ghana Loud) weighing 1,848 kilograms.
Further operations in Kaduna State led to the arrest of two suspects, Aminu Baba and Abdulrasheed Abubakar, linked to the interception of two bags containing 140 packets of explosives destined for Kano and Kaduna.
According to the NDLEA, these coordinated arrests and seizures are part of sustained efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks, curb cross-border smuggling, and cut off the supply of illicit substances to criminal and terrorist groups across Nigeria.
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