Authorities in Nigeria have made the largest ever heroin seizure at Abuja’s international airport, discovering over 30kg of the drug hidden inside factory-sealed coffee packets.
A 30-year-old Brazilian woman, Ingrid Rosa Benevides, was intercepted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) shortly after arriving on a Qatar Airways flight from Brazil on Friday.
The heroin, valued at roughly N3 billion ($1.8m; £1.4m), was found in 21 packets of coffee inside her checked luggage. Officials said the suspect, who works as a private security guard in Brazil, claimed she was visiting Nigeria for a holiday.
A nationwide ‘blitz’
The arrest in Abuja was just one part of a week-long nationwide crackdown that has exposed the diverse and often elderly demographics involved in the country’s illegal drug trade.
In a series of raids across several states, the NDLEA reported:
- The 72-Year-Old Grandpa: Officers in Ekiti State arrested a septuagenarian and another man for dealing “skunk”—a potent strain of cannabis.
- The Village Head: In Edo State, a traditional village leader was taken into custody after a joint raid with the Nigerian Army uncovered nearly 700kg of cannabis.
- The ‘Explosives’ Trail: Two men were arrested in connection with 140 packets of explosives being transported to northern cities, Kano and Kaduna, via a commercial bus.
[Image: NDLEA officials displaying the seized heroin hidden in Brazilian coffee packets]
Disrupting terror supply lines
The NDLEA also highlighted a successful operation in Borno State, a region long troubled by insurgent groups. Operatives intercepted nearly 180,000 pills of tramadol and diazepam hidden in sacks of charcoal and animal feed.
Anti-narcotics experts say the seizure is significant as high-strength opioids are frequently used by terror groups in the Sahel to fuel fighters.
Maritime and transit seizures
The agency’s Marine Command intercepted a wooden boat off the coast of Lekki, Lagos, carrying nearly two tonnes of “Ghana Loud”—a strong variety of cannabis—that had just arrived from across the Gulf of Guinea.
Meanwhile, at Lagos’s international airport, two passengers were caught attempting to smuggle thousands of prescription pills to Istanbul, Turkey, hidden inside food items.
Analysis: A new phase in the drug war?
By Segun Ojumu Nigeria Correspondent
Nigeria has long been a transit hub for South American cocaine heading to Europe, but these latest seizures suggest a growing and sophisticated market for heroin and synthetic opioids.
The involvement of a village head and a 72-year-old grandfather highlights how the drug economy is permeating different layers of Nigerian society. The NDLEA’s head, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, has clearly shifted the agency toward an “intelligence-led” strategy, but the sheer volume of drugs—and now explosives—being moved across the country remains a major security headache for the government.
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