NDLEA Seizes 30kg Heroin Hidden In Coffee Packs, Arrests Brazilian At Abuja Airport
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted a Brazilian national, Ms Ingrid Benevides, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, with 30.09 kilograms of heroin concealed in factory-sealed coffee packs valued at over ₦3 billion.
The 30-year-old suspect, identified as a private security officer in Brazil, was arrested on Friday, January 23, 2026, upon her arrival aboard Qatar Airways flight QR1431, following intelligence-led surveillance by NDLEA operatives.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, a search of Benevides’ two checked-in bags revealed 21 factory-sealed packs of Brazilian coffee. Further inspection showed that the packs contained white substances which later tested positive for heroin.
Babafemi disclosed that the seizure represents the single largest heroin interception ever recorded at the Abuja airport.
“When the coffee packs 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,” the statement read.
During preliminary interrogation, the suspect claimed she smuggled the drugs into Nigeria under the guise of visiting the country for holidays.
In a related operation, NDLEA officers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, on January 20, intercepted two passengers—Adediran Adedoyin and Afatakpa Ochuko—en route to Istanbul, Turkey.
The suspects were found with 3,990 pills of tapentadol (250mg) and tramadol (225mg) concealed inside food items packed in their luggage.
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Meanwhile, operatives of the agency’s 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 shipment had barely arrived from Ghana when NDLEA officers acting on credible intelligence stormed the location around 1:00am and recovered the consignment alongside the boat,” Babafemi said.
In Kaduna State, two suspects—Aminu Baba (20) and Abdulrasheed Abubakar (28)—were arrested following the interception of two bags containing 140 packets of explosives destined for Kano and Kaduna. The items were seized from a commercial bus along the Kaduna–Zaria highway, with arrests made in follow-up operations.
Babafemi added that intelligence-driven operations across states including Borno, Niger, Ekiti, Edo, Kano, Oyo, Benue, Lagos, Delta and Ondo led to multiple arrests and seizures of illicit substances such as tramadol, skunk, pentazocine injections, cannabis seeds and codeine syrup.
The NDLEA reaffirmed its commitment to disrupting drug trafficking networks, curbing cross-border smuggling, and cutting off the supply of illicit drugs to criminal and terror groups across Nigeria.