The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says its operatives have arrested Ingrid Benevides, a 30-year-old Brazilian woman, in possession of 30.09 kilograms of heroin.
The illicit drugs, valued at over N3 billion on the streets, were allegedly hidden in factory-sealed coffee packs at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
In a statement released on Sunday, Femi Babafemi, spokesperson of the anti-drug agency, said the suspect was intercepted on Friday after she arrived in Abuja aboard a Qatar Airways flight.
Babafemi disclosed that Benevides, who works as a private security officer in Brazil, had been placed under intelligence-led surveillance prior to her arrest at the airport.
He said a search of her two checked-in bags revealed 21 factory-sealed packs of Brazilian coffee containing white substances that later tested positive for heroin.
“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 reads.
“During her preliminary interview, the suspect claimed she brought the white heroin consignment under the guise of coming to Nigeria for holidays.”
Other Arrests
Babafemi also said NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, arrested Adediran Adedoyin and Afatakpa Ochuko on January 20 while they were travelling to Istanbul, Turkey.
He said the suspects were found with 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 said.
The spokesperson added that operatives of the agency’s 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.
“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.
In Kaduna, Babafemi said two suspects, Aminu Baba, 20, and Abdulrasheed Abubakar, 28, were arrested over two bags containing 140 packets of explosives intercepted along the Kaduna–Zaria highway.
He explained that the explosives were recovered from a commercial bus, while the suspects were later arrested during follow-up operations in Kano and Kaduna.
According to him, intelligence-led operations across several states also resulted in multiple arrests and seizures of tramadol, skunk, pentazocine injections, cannabis seeds and codeine syrup.
He said the seizures were made in Borno, Niger, Ekiti, Edo, Kano, Oyo, Benue, Lagos, Delta and Ondo states.
The agency said the arrests are part of ongoing efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks, curb cross-border smuggling and prevent illicit drugs from reaching criminal and terrorist groups.
Babafemi added that the NDLEA has intensified intelligence-driven operations targeting drug importation routes, distribution channels and local trafficking syndicates nationwide.