NDLEA Nabs Brazilian Woman With N3bn Heroin at Abuja Airport, Seizes Explosives, Drugs Nationwide

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 30-year-old Brazilian national, Ms. Ingrid Rosa Benevides, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, over an attempt to smuggle heroin worth more than N3 billion into Nigeria.
Benevides, a private security officer in Brazil, was apprehended on Friday, January 23, 2026, upon arrival on a Qatar Airways flight from São Paulo via Doha, following intelligence-led profiling. A search of her two checked-in bags revealed 21 factory-sealed packs of Brazilian coffee which, upon examination, were found to contain 30.09 kilograms of white heroin. The haul represents the largest single heroin seizure recorded at the Abuja airport. The suspect reportedly claimed during interrogation that she brought the consignment under the guise of visiting Nigeria on holiday.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, intercepted two outbound passengers, Adediran Adedoyin and Afatakpa Ochuko, on Tuesday, January 20, as they attempted to travel to Istanbul, Turkey. The duo were found with 3,990 pills of tapentadol and tramaking concealed in food items packed in their luggage.
Also in Lagos, officers of the Agency’s Marine Command intercepted a wooden boat conveying 44 jumbo bags of “Ghana Loud” cannabis weighing 1,848 kilograms at Jakande Beach, Lekki, in the early hours of Thursday, January 22. The consignment had reportedly just arrived from Ghana before NDLEA operatives stormed the area and recovered both the drugs and the boat.
In Kaduna and Kano states, NDLEA arrested two suspects, Aminu Ali Baba, 20, and Abdulrasheed Abubakar, 28, in connection with the seizure of two bags containing 140 packets of explosives destined for Kano and Kaduna. The explosives were intercepted in a commercial vehicle along the Kaduna–Zaria highway, while the suspects were later tracked and arrested in Kano and Kaduna respectively. A related raid in Kwangila, Zaria LGA, led to the arrest of Fatima Ibrahim, 42, and Adejimoh Ismaila, 44, with 120 kilograms of skunk recovered.
As part of efforts to cut off drug supply routes linked to terror activities, NDLEA operatives in Borno State intercepted 179,590 pills of tramadol and diazepam concealed in sacks of charcoal and animal feed aboard a commercial vehicle from Potiskum, Yobe State. A follow-up operation in Maiduguri resulted in the arrest of the alleged owner, Rabiu Imam, 32.
In Niger and Kwara states, a female suspect, Mrs. Eze Cynthia Chioma, was arrested in Mokwa following the seizure of 78,500 pills of tramadol in a truck intercepted at Bode Saadu, Kwara State. Her husband is currently standing trial for a similar offence.
Further arrests were recorded in Ekiti State, where NDLEA operatives apprehended a 72-year-old suspect, Afolalu Joseph, alongside Abu Bunmi, alias “Go Slow,” with a total of 62 kilograms of skunk recovered. In Edo State, a village head, Chief James Abamu, and another suspect were taken into custody after a joint operation with the Nigerian Army uncovered 681 kilograms of skunk and 181 kilograms of cannabis seeds in Esan South East LGA.
Additional seizures and arrests were reported across Kano, Oyo, Benue, FCT, Lagos, Delta and Ondo states, involving tramadol, pentazocine injections, codeine syrup, cannabis and other illicit substances, with quantities running into hundreds of kilograms and tens of thousands of pills.
Meanwhile, the Agency sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign with sensitisation programmes held in schools and communities across several states during the week.
Commending NDLEA commands nationwide for the arrests and seizures, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), urged officers to maintain high standards of professionalism in both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.