The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a Brazilian national at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, in what officials described as the single largest heroin seizure ever recorded at the airport.
The suspect, identified as 30-year-old Ingrid Benevides, was apprehended on Friday shortly after arriving in Abuja aboard a Qatar Airways flight.
NDLEA officials said she was found in possession of 30.09 kilograms of heroin with an estimated street value exceeding N3 billion.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that the illicit drugs were ingeniously concealed inside factory-sealed packs of coffee.
Acting on prior intelligence, NDLEA operatives placed the suspect under close surveillance before intercepting her on arrival.
According to the agency, a search of Benevides’ two checked-in bags led to the discovery of 21 sealed packs of Brazilian coffee.
When opened, the packs were found to contain a white substance, which later tested positive for heroin.
Babafemi said the quantity recovered made it the largest heroin interception at the Abuja airport to date.
During preliminary questioning, the suspect reportedly claimed she travelled to Nigeria under the pretext of a holiday.
NDLEA officials also revealed that Benevides works as a private security officer in Brazil, adding that investigations were ongoing to uncover the wider network behind the attempted smuggling.
The agency also announced a series of related interceptions across the country.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, two passengers—Adediran Adedoyin and Afatakpa Ochuko—were arrested on January 20 while attempting to board a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul.
They were allegedly found with 3,990 pills of tapentadol and tramadol concealed inside food items packed in their luggage.
In another operation, operatives of the NDLEA Marine Command intercepted a wooden boat at Jakande Beach, Lekki, Lagos, carrying 44 jumbo bags of Ghana Loud cannabis weighing about 1,848 kilograms.
The agency said the consignment had just arrived from Ghana before officers stormed the location in the early hours of January 22.
Meanwhile, in Kaduna, two suspects—Aminu Baba, 20, and Abdulrasheed Abubakar, 28—were arrested in connection with the interception of explosives along the Kaduna–Zaria highway.
The explosives were reportedly recovered from a commercial bus, with follow-up arrests made in Kaduna and Kano states.
The NDLEA reaffirmed its commitment to disrupting drug trafficking networks and urged the public to continue supporting intelligence-led efforts to combat illicit drugs and related crimes nationwide.
