The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 30-year-old Brazilian woman, Ms. Ingrid Rosa Benevides, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for attempting to smuggle 30.09 kilograms of heroin worth over N3 billion into Nigeria.
The suspect, who works as a private security officer in Brazil, was arrested on Friday, January 23, 2026, upon arrival from Doha on a Qatar Airways flight following credible intelligence.
A search of her two checked-in bags revealed 21 factory-sealed coffee packs which, upon inspection, were found to contain heroin instead of coffee. NDLEA said the seizure is the largest single heroin interception ever recorded at the Abuja airport. During preliminary interrogation, the suspect claimed she came to Nigeria on holiday.
In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, January 20, intercepted two passengers, Adediran Adedoyin and Afatakpa Ochuko, en route to Istanbul, Turkey. A total of 3,990 pills of tapentadol and tramaking were discovered concealed in food items packed in their luggage.
Meanwhile, operatives of the NDLEA Marine Command intercepted a wooden boat loaded with 44 jumbo bags of Ghana Loud cannabis weighing 1,848 kilograms at Jakande Beach, Lekki, Lagos, in the early hours of Thursday, January 22. The consignment had just arrived from Ghana when officers stormed the area and recovered both the drugs and the boat.
In Kaduna and Kano states, NDLEA arrested two suspects, Aminu Ali Baba, 20, and Abdulrasheed Abubakar, 28, over the movement of two bags containing 140 packets of explosives heading to Kano and Kaduna. The bags were intercepted along the Kaduna–Zaria highway, while the suspects were later tracked and arrested in Kano and Kaduna respectively. An additional raid in Kwangila, Zaria LGA, led to the arrest of two more suspects with 120 kilograms of skunk.
As part of efforts to cut off drug supply to terror groups, NDLEA operatives in Borno State intercepted 179,590 pills of tramadol and diazepam concealed in charcoal and animal feed sacks in a commercial vehicle from Yobe State. The owner of the consignment was later arrested in Maiduguri.
Across several states including Kwara, Ekiti, Edo, Kano, Oyo, Benue, Delta, Ondo, Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory, the Agency recorded multiple arrests, including that of a 72-year-old man and a village head, with large quantities of skunk, tramadol, codeine syrup, cannabis seeds and other illicit substances recovered.
In total, tons of illicit drugs were seized nationwide within the week under review.
While commending NDLEA officers across the affected commands for their professionalism and operational efficiency, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged them to sustain the momentum in both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
He also reaffirmed the Agency’s commitment to its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign, noting that sensitization and enlightenment programmes continued in schools, communities, workplaces and worship centres across the country.
