30kg Heroin Hidden In Coffee Packs: NDLEA Makes Biggest Abuja Airport Seizure

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a 30-year-old Brazilian national, Ms Ingrid Rosa Benevides, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for allegedly attempting to smuggle a large consignment of heroin into the country.

The suspect was arrested on Friday, January 23, 2026, upon her arrival on a Qatar Airways flight, QR1431, following what the agency described as processed intelligence.

A statement issued on Sunday by the Director of Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, revealed that a search conducted on Benevides’ two checked-in bags led to the discovery of 21 factory-sealed packets of Brazilian coffee.

However, Babafemi said the contents were not coffee, as expected.

“When the coffee bags were opened, rather than containing the beverage, white substances were found inside. They later tested positive for heroin, weighing a total of 30.09 kilograms,” he said.

The NDLEA spokesperson added that the seized heroin, valued at over ₦3 billion on the streets, represents the single largest heroin seizure ever recorded at the Abuja airport.

During her preliminary interview, the suspect, who works as a private security officer in Brazil, claimed she brought the consignment into Nigeria under the guise of coming for a holiday.

In a related development, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, January 20, intercepted two passengers, Adediran Adedoyin and Afatakpa Ochuko.

The duo, who were travelling to Istanbul, Turkey, aboard a Turkish Airlines flight, were found with 3,990 pills of tapentadol 250mg and tramadol 225mg concealed inside food items packed in their bags.

Meanwhile, operatives of the NDLEA Marine Command intercepted a wooden boat conveying 44 jumbo bags of Ghana Loud, a strain of cannabis weighing 1,848 kilograms, at Jakande Beach, Lekki, Lagos.

The operation took place in the early hours of Thursday, January 22, after NDLEA officers, acting on credible intelligence, stormed the location around 1 am, shortly after the shipment arrived from Ghana.

Explosives, Skunk Intercepted In Kaduna, Kano

Two suspects, Aminu Ali Baba, 20, and Abdulrasheed Abubakar, 28, were arrested on Friday, January 23, in connection with the seizure of 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. Aminu Ali Baba was arrested at Karota Park in Kano, while Abdulrasheed Abubakar was nabbed at Mando Park in Kaduna during follow-up operations.

In a related raid at Kwangila, Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State, NDLEA operatives arrested Fatima Ibrahim, 42, and Adejimoh Ismaila, 44, with 120 kilograms of skunk recovered from them.

As part of efforts to disrupt the supply chain of illicit drugs to terror groups, NDLEA operatives in Borno State on Wednesday, January 21, intercepted 179,590 pills of tramadol and diazepam.

The drugs were concealed in sacks of charcoal and animal feeds inside a public transport vehicle coming from Potiskum, Yobe State.

A follow-up operation at Bulabulin, Maiduguri, led to the arrest of the owner of the consignment, Rabiu Imam, 32.

In Niger State, a female suspect, Mrs Eze Cynthia Chioma, was arrested in Mokwa on Friday, January 23, following the seizure of her consignment of 78,500 pills of tramadol earlier the same day at Bode Saadu, Kwara State.

The drugs were intercepted in a truck coming from Lagos. NDLEA said her husband, who was arrested for a similar offence last year, is currently remanded in prison and facing trial.

In Ekiti State, NDLEA operatives on Saturday, January 24, arrested 72-year-old Afolalu Joseph and Abu Bunmi, also known as “Go Slow,” for illicit drug dealing. A total of 62 kilograms of skunk was recovered from the duo.

Similarly, a village head, Chief James Abamu, and another suspect, Aboy Egah Abamu, were arrested in Edo State after soldiers of the Nigerian Army’s 4 Brigade handed them over to NDLEA following a raid at Ilushi in Esan South East Local Government Area.

During the operation, 681kg of skunk and 181kg of cannabis seeds were recovered.

In Kano, 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 Ibadan, Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested Olajumoke Ridwan and Baruwa Ibukun at a lounge along Ring Road, where 181.5 litres of skuchies, a mixture of skunk and other illicit substances, were recovered.

In Benue State, a female suspect, Janet Iornongu, was arrested at Yes Ikyuan village, Guma Local Government Area, with 210kg of skunk.

Another 254.5kg of the same substance was seized from Anita Job along the Abaji–Toto road in the Federal Capital Territory on Thursday, January 22.

At Alaba Rago, Mile 2 area of Lagos, 39,800 pills of tramadol 225mg were recovered from two suspects, Hamisu Misbahu and Chima Obi, on Monday, January 19.

In Delta State, NDLEA officers seized no fewer than 30,003 pills of tramadol, molly and other opioids, as well as 20 litres of codeine syrup, from a suspect, Chinyecherem Cyprian Ugwu, along Sapele Road, Warri.

Similarly, Kayode Obameye, 57, was arrested at the Mobil Roundabout in Akure, Ondo State, with 1,500 kilograms of skunk recovered from him on Friday, January 23.

Beyond enforcement, the agency said its officers across commands continued their War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities nationwide over the past week.

Commending officers and men of the NAIA, MMIA, Marine, Borno, Jigawa, Kwara, Kaduna, Ekiti, Edo, Kano, Delta, Oyo, FCT, Benue, Lagos and Ondo Commands, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.) urged them to sustain professionalism.

He enjoined officers nationwide to maintain the current standard in both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction activities.