NDLEA Nabs Brazilian Woman with N3bn Heroin at Abuja Airport, Seizes Explosives, Tonnes of Drugs Nationwide
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded a series of major operational breakthroughs across the country, including the arrest of a 30-year-old Brazilian woman at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, with heroin valued at over N3 billion, as well as the interception of explosives and large consignments of illicit drugs across multiple states.
The Brazilian suspect, Ms Ingrid Rosa Benevides, was apprehended on Friday, 23 January 2026, upon her arrival in Abuja on a Qatar Airways flight, QR1431, following intelligence-led surveillance by NDLEA operatives.
Benevides, who reportedly works as a private security officer in Brazil, was found with 30.09 kilogrammes of white heroin concealed in 21 factory-sealed packs of Brazilian coffee stashed in her two checked-in bags.
A thorough search revealed that the coffee packs did not contain the beverage as labelled but were instead filled with heroin, which subsequently tested positive during field analysis. The consignment, estimated to be worth over N3 billion in street value, represents the single largest heroin seizure ever recorded at the Abuja airport.
During preliminary interrogation, the suspect claimed she brought the drugs into Nigeria under the guise of visiting the country for a holiday.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, 20 January intercepted two outbound passengers, Adediran Adedoyin and Afatakpa Ochuko, who were en route to Istanbul, Turkey, aboard a Turkish Airlines flight.
A search of their luggage uncovered 3,990 pills of tapentadol 250mg and tramaking 225mg, carefully concealed within food items.
In a related operation, operatives of the NDLEA Marine Command, acting on credible intelligence, intercepted a wooden boat at Jakande Beach, Lekki, Lagos, in the early hours of Thursday, 22 January.
The boat, which had just arrived from Ghana, was loaded with 44 jumbo bags of “Ghana Loud”, a potent strain of cannabis, weighing a total of 1,848 kilogrammes. The consignment and the vessel were promptly seized.
Security concerns were further heightened with the interception of two bags containing 140 packets of explosives destined for Kano and Kaduna.
The explosives were discovered in a commercial bus along the Kaduna–Zaria highway. Two suspects, Aminu Ali Baba, 20, and Abdulrasheed Abubakar, 28, were arrested in swift follow-up operations at Karota Park, Kano, and Mando Park, Kaduna, respectively.
An additional intelligence-led raid in Kwangila, Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State, led to the arrest of Fatima Ibrahim, 42, and Adejimoh Ismaila, 44, with 120 kilogrammes of skunk recovered from them.
As part of efforts to dismantle drug supply routes linked to terror groups, NDLEA operatives in Borno State on Wednesday, 21 January intercepted 179,590 pills of tramadol and diazepam hidden in sacks of charcoal and animal feed.
The drugs were being conveyed in a commercial vehicle from Potiskum, Yobe State. A follow-up operation in Bulabulin, Maiduguri, resulted in the arrest of the owner of the consignment, Rabiu Imam, 32.
In another operation, a female suspect, Mrs Eze Cynthia Chioma, was arrested in Mokwa, Niger State, on Friday, 23 January, following the seizure of 78,500 pills of tramadol earlier that day at Bode Saadu, Kwara State.
The drugs were intercepted in a truck travelling from Lagos. Her husband, who was arrested last year for a similar offence, is currently remanded in prison and facing trial.
In Ekiti State, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, 24 January arrested a 72-year-old village elder, Afolalu Joseph, at his residence on Aramoko Road, Mushin, Ilawe-Ekiti, alongside Abu Bunmi, also known as “Go Slow”, aged 45.
The duo were found in possession of 62 kilogrammes of skunk. Similarly, in Edo State, a village head, Chief James Abamu, and another suspect, Aboy Egah Abamu, were taken into custody following their arrest by soldiers of the Nigerian Army’s 4 Brigade, Benin City.
The suspects were subsequently handed over to the NDLEA after a raid at Lagos Camp, Ilushi, in Esan South East Local Government Area, where 681 kilogrammes of skunk and 181 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds were recovered.
In Kano State, three suspects – Abba Hassan, Anas Moh’d Auwal and Sadik Ismail – were arrested in the Sabon Gari area with 1,000 ampoules of pentazocine injection.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested Olajumoke Ridwan and Baruwa Ibukun at Paris Lounge, Ring Road, Ibadan, recovering 181.5 litres of “skuchies”, a mixture of skunk and other psychoactive substances.
Further seizures were recorded across Benue, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos, Delta and Ondo States. In Benue, a female suspect, Janet Iornongu, was arrested at Yes Ikyuan village, Guma LGA, with 210 kilogrammes of skunk, while 254.5 kilogrammes of the same substance were seized from Anita Job along the Abaji–Toto Road in the FCT.
At Alaba Rago, Mile 2, Lagos, 39,800 pills of tramadol 225mg were recovered from Hamisu Misbahu and Chima Obi.
In Delta State, NDLEA officers seized 30,003 pills of tramadol, molly and other opioids, as well as 20 litres of codeine syrup, from Chinyecherem Cyprian Ugwu along Sapele Road, Warri. Meanwhile, in Ondo State, Kayode Obameye, 57, was arrested at Mobil Roundabout, Akure, with 1,500 kilogrammes of skunk.
Beyond enforcement, the Agency sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns across schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities nationwide.
Enlightenment lectures were delivered in institutions including Government Science Secondary School, Jalingo, Taraba State; Beloved Montessori Group of Schools, Ede, Osun State; Owerri City Junior Secondary School, Imo State; Government Day Secondary School, Otukpo, Benue State; and Darawa Primary School, Dutsinma, Katsina State, among others.
Commending the officers and men of the NAIA, MMIA, Marine, Borno, Jigawa, Kwara, Kaduna, Ekiti, Edo, Kano, Delta, Oyo, FCT, Benue, Lagos and Ondo Commands for their professionalism and operational efficiency, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged them to sustain the current momentum in both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts across the country.
