…NDLEA disclosed that a search of Benevides’ two checked-in bags uncovered 21 factory-sealed packs of Brazilian coffee.
ABUJA, NIGERIA- The iNews Times | Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 30-year-old Brazilian national, Ingrid Benevides, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for attempting to smuggle 30.09 kilograms of heroin concealed in factory-sealed coffee packs valued at over ₦3 billion.
The suspect, identified as a private security officer in Brazil, was apprehended on Friday, January 23, 2026, upon her arrival on Qatar Airways flight QR1431, following intelligence-led surveillance by NDLEA operatives.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that a search of Benevides’ two checked-in bags uncovered 21 factory-sealed packs of Brazilian coffee. Further examination revealed that the packs contained a white substance which subsequently tested positive for heroin.
According to Babafemi, the seized narcotics weighed a total of 30.09 kilograms, making it the largest single heroin seizure ever recorded at the Abuja airport. During preliminary interrogation, the suspect reportedly claimed she brought the illicit drugs into Nigeria under the pretext of visiting the country for holidays.
In a related operation, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, January 20, intercepted two passengers, Adediran Adedoyin and Afatakpa Ochuko, who were en route to Istanbul, Turkey, aboard a Turkish Airlines flight. The suspects were found in possession of 3,990 pills of tapentadol 250mg and tramaking 225mg concealed in food items packed inside their luggage.
Meanwhile, NDLEA officers attached to the Marine Command, acting on credible intelligence, intercepted a wooden boat carrying 44 jumbo bags of Ghana Loud cannabis weighing 1,848 kilograms at Jakande Beach, Lekki, Lagos, in the early hours of Thursday, January 22. Babafemi said the consignment had just arrived from Ghana when operatives stormed the location around 1:00 a.m., recovered the drugs, and seized the boat.
In Kaduna State, two suspects, Aminu Baba, 20, and Abdulrasheed Abubakar, 28 were arrested in connection with the interception of two bags containing 140 packets of explosives. The explosives, destined for Kano and Kaduna states, were recovered from a commercial bus along the Kaduna–Zaria highway, while the suspects were arrested in follow-up operations across Kano and Kaduna.
Babafemi added that several other intelligence-driven operations nationwide resulted in the arrest of multiple suspects and the seizure of large quantities of illicit drugs, including tramadol, skunk, pentazocine injections, cannabis seeds, and codeine syrup, in states such as Borno, Niger, Ekiti, Edo, Kano, Oyo, Benue, Lagos, Delta, and Ondo.
He noted that the arrests and seizures form part of the NDLEA’s sustained efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks, curb cross-border smuggling, and cut off the supply of illicit drugs to criminal and terrorist groups across Nigeria.
Despite ongoing challenges posed by drug trafficking both locally and internationally, the NDLEA said it has intensified intelligence-led operations targeting drug importation, distribution chains, and domestic trafficking syndicates nationwide.
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