Anti-narcotics agents have arrested a 30-year-old Brazilian woman at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja after discovering 30.09 kilograms of heroin hidden in coffee packages, valued at over ₦3 billion on the street.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, announced on Sunday that the seizure represents the largest single heroin bust at the Abuja airport.
The woman, who works as a private security officer in Brazil, was detained on Friday, January 23, after arriving on Qatar Airways flight QR1431. Acting on intelligence, NDLEA officers searched her two checked bags and found 21 factory-sealed Brazilian coffee packets. Instead of coffee, the packages contained white powder that tested positive for heroin.
According to Babafemi, the suspect claimed during questioning that she brought the drugs while traveling to Nigeria for a holiday.
Additional Drug Busts Across Nigeria
At Lagos’s Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Tuesday, January 20, agents intercepted two passengers bound for Istanbul, Turkey, carrying 3,990 pills of tapentadol and tramadol hidden in food items.
The agency’s Marine Command made another significant seizure in the early hours of Thursday, January 22, at Jakande beach in Lekki, Lagos. Officers recovered 1,848 kilograms of cannabis (Ghana Loud strain) loaded in 44 jumbo bags on a wooden boat that had just arrived from Ghana. The operation was carried out around 1:00 a.m. based on intelligence.
In Kaduna State, two suspects were arrested on Friday, January 23, in connection with 140 packets of explosives intercepted on a commercial bus along the Kaduna-Zaria highway. One suspect was apprehended at Karota Park in Kano, while the other was caught at Mando Park in Kaduna.
An intelligence-driven raid in Kwangila, Zaria Local Government Area on Thursday, January 22, resulted in two arrests and the recovery of 120 kilograms of cannabis.
Ongoing Prevention Efforts
NDLEA commands nationwide continued their War Against Drug Abuse awareness campaigns last week, conducting educational sessions at schools, religious centers, workplaces, and communities. Recent lectures were held at Government Science Secondary School in Jalingo, Taraba State; Beloved Montessori Group of Schools in Ede, Osun State; Owerri City Junior Secondary School in Imo State; Government Day Secondary School in Otukpo, Benue State; and Darawa Primary School in Dutsinma, Katsina State, among other locations.
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