By Amofokhai Williams
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded a series of major interceptions and arrests across the country, including the seizure of a N3 billion heroin consignment at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, and the recovery of large quantities of illicit drugs and explosives in multiple states.
Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, said in a statement on Sunday, that operatives at the Abuja airport arrested a 30-year-old Brazilian national, Ms. Ingrid Rosa Benevides, after intelligence revealed she was attempting to smuggle heroin into Nigeria.
Babafemi said the suspect, who arrived aboard a Qatar Airways flight from São Paulo on Friday, January 23, 2026, was found with 30.09 kilograms of white heroin concealed in 21 factory-sealed coffee packs hidden inside her luggage.
He stated that the drugs, with an estimated street value of over N3 billion, represent the single largest heroin seizure ever recorded at the Abuja airport.
He added that Benevides claimed during preliminary interrogation that she brought the consignment under the guise of coming to Nigeria for holidays.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, January 20, intercepted two passengers, Adediran Adedoyin and Afatakpa Ochuko, en route to Istanbul, Turkey.
He explained that a total of 3,990 pills of tapentadol and tramaking were discovered concealed in food items packed in their bags.
Babafemi also disclosed that operatives of the Marine Command intercepted a wooden boat conveying 44 jumbo bags of Ghana Loud cannabis, weighing 1,848 kilograms, at Jakande Beach, Lekki, Lagos, in the early hours of Thursday, January 22.
He said the consignment, which had just arrived from Ghana, was recovered following credible intelligence.
In another operation, Babafemi stated that NDLEA officers arrested two suspects, Aminu Ali Baba, 20, and Abdulrasheed Abubakar, 28, in connection with the interception of two bags containing 140 packets of explosives destined for Kano and Kaduna.
He noted that the explosives were seized from a commercial bus along the Kaduna–Zaria highway, while the suspects were tracked and arrested in Kano and Kaduna respectively.
He added that a related intelligence-led raid in Zaria led to the arrest of two more suspects and the recovery of 120 kilograms of skunk.
According to Babafemi, NDLEA operatives in Borno State intercepted 179,590 pills of tramadol and diazepam concealed in sacks of charcoal and animal feeds coming from Yobe State, leading to the arrest of the owner of the consignment in Maiduguri.
He further revealed that in Kwara and Niger states, large quantities of tramadol were seized, with a female suspect arrested in a follow-up operation after her drugs were intercepted in transit.
Babafemi said arrests were also made in Ekiti State, where a 72-year-old man and another suspect were caught with 62 kilograms of skunk, while in Edo State, a village head and another suspect were taken into custody after 681 kilograms of skunk and 181 kilograms of cannabis seeds were recovered during a joint operation involving the Nigerian Army.
He added that similar raids and arrests were carried out in Kano, Oyo, Benue, Delta, Ondo, Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory, with thousands of pills of tramadol, codeine syrup, pentazocine injections, skuchies and large volumes of skunk seized from multiple suspects.
Babafemi said the Agency also sustained its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns nationwide, with enlightenment lectures held in schools, worship centres and communities across several states during the week.
While commending officers involved in the operations, Babafemi said the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, urged personnel across all commands to maintain high standards of professionalism in both drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
