The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 30-year-old Brazilian woman, Ms. Ingrid Benevides, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, with 30.09 kilogrammes of heroin, in what the agency described as the largest single heroin seizure ever recorded at the airport.

The NDLEA disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr. Femi Babafemi.

According to the agency, the illicit drugs, valued at more than ₦3 billion on the street, were concealed in factory-sealed packs of Brazilian coffee.

Ms. Benevides, who was said to be a private security officer in Brazil, was intercepted on Friday upon her arrival in Abuja on a Qatar Airways flight, following intelligence-led surveillance.

“When the coffee bags were opened, rather than containing the beverage, what was found inside were white substances that later tested positive for heroin, weighing a total of 30.09 kilogrammes, making it the single largest heroin seizure at the Abuja airport,” the statement said.

During her preliminary interview, the suspect reportedly claimed that she brought the heroin into Nigeria under the guise of travelling for holidays.

A search of her two checked-in bags revealed 21 factory-sealed coffee packs containing the illicit substance.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, intercepted two passengers, Mr. Adediran Adedoyin and Mr. Afatakpa Ochuko, on Tuesday, January 20, while they were en route to Istanbul, Turkey.

The suspects were found with a total of 3,990 pills of tapentadol (250mg) and tramadol (225mg), concealed in food items packed inside their luggage.

“At the MMIA Ikeja, Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Tuesday, 20th January intercepted two passengers heading to Istanbul aboard a Turkish Airlines flight with a total of 3,990 pills of tapentadol and tramadol concealed in food items packed in their bags,” Mr. Babafemi said.

In a separate operation, officers of the NDLEA Marine Command intercepted a wooden boat loaded with 44 jumbo bags of Ghana Loud cannabis weighing 1,848 kilogrammes at Jakande Beach, Lekki, Lagos, in the early hours of January 22.

“The shipment had barely arrived from Ghana when NDLEA officers, acting on credible intelligence, stormed the location around 1 a.m., recovered the consignment and seized the boat,” the agency said.

In Kaduna State, the NDLEA also arrested two suspects, Mr. Aminu Baba, 20, and Mr. Abdulrasheed Abubakar, 28, in connection with two bags containing 140 packets of explosives intercepted along the Kaduna–Zaria highway.

The explosives were reportedly seized from a commercial bus, while the suspects were apprehended during follow-up operations in Kano and Kaduna.