The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 30-year-old Brazilian woman, Ingrid Rosa Benevides, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, with 30.09 kilograms of heroin concealed in factory-sealed coffee packs, valued at over N3bn.
Benevides, a private security officer in Brazil, was apprehended on Friday, January 23, 2026, on arrival aboard a Qatar Airways flight following intelligence-led surveillance.
A search of her two checked-in bags uncovered 21 sealed packs of Brazilian coffee which, upon examination, contained white heroin.
The NDLEA described the haul as the largest single heroin seizure ever recorded at the Abuja airport.
The suspect reportedly told investigators she came to Nigeria on holiday.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport intercepted two passengers, Adediran Adedoyin and Afatakpa Ochuko, on Tuesday, January 20, while attempting to board a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul.
The duo were found with 3,990 pills of tapentadol and tramaking concealed in food items.
At the Lekki coastline, operatives of the Agency’s Marine Command seized 1,848 kilograms of Ghana Loud cannabis loaded in 44 jumbo bags from a wooden boat at Jakande Beach in the early hours of Thursday, January 22.
The shipment, which had just arrived from Ghana, was recovered alongside the boat.
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In a related operation, two men, Aminu Ali Baba, and Abdulrasheed Abubakar, were arrested over two bags containing 140 packets of explosives heading to Kano and Kaduna.
The explosives were intercepted in a commercial bus along the Kaduna–Zaria highway, with follow-up arrests carried out in Kano and Kaduna.
Another raid in Zaria led to the arrest of two suspects with 120kg of skunk.
In Borno State, NDLEA operatives intercepted 179,590 pills of tramadol and diazepam concealed in sacks of charcoal and animal feed in a vehicle from Yobe State.
A follow-up operation in Maiduguri led to the arrest of the alleged owner of the consignment.
Elsewhere, a woman, Eze Cynthia Chioma, was arrested in Niger State over 78,500 tramadol pills earlier seized in Kwara, while Ekiti operatives arrested a 72-year-old man and his accomplice with 62kg of skunk.
In Edo, a village head and another suspect were taken into custody after soldiers handed them over to NDLEA following the recovery of 681kg of skunk and 181kg of cannabis seeds.
Multiple arrests and seizures were also recorded in Kano, Oyo, Benue, the FCT, Lagos, Delta and Ondo states, with drugs ranging from pentazocine injections and tramadol pills to large consignments of skunk and codeine syrup recovered.
Commending the widespread operations, NDLEA Chairman, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Marwa (rtd.), praised the professionalism of officers across commands and urged them to sustain the momentum in drug supply and demand reduction, as the Agency continues its nationwide War Against Drug Abuse campaign.
