The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has confirmed the arrest of 22 Indian nationals who are crew members of the merchant vessel MV Aruna Hulya following the interception of 31.5 kilograms of cocaine at the GDNL terminal, Apapa Port, Lagos.
The seizure took place on Friday, January 2, 2026.
In a statement released on Sunday, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, revealed that NDLEA operatives also uncovered assorted quantities of ketamine, ecstasy, and tramadol tablets hidden inside coffee sachets and parcels disguised as books. The illicit consignments were intended for delivery to Zambia and the United Kingdom and were intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on December 24 and 29, 2025.
According to Babafemi, those taken into custody over the cocaine discovered in hatch three of the vessel which reportedly originated from the Marshall Islands, include the ship’s captain, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, along with 21 other crew members.
The suspects were identified as Bharati Manoj Kumar, Bhalerao Nilesh Mukund, Nadar Anthony Macson David, Kolusu Srinivasa Rao, Sagar Gaurav, Francis Anto Beemas Nester, Jagdeep Singh, Jai Parkash, and Prabhukhan Singh.
Others listed include Nevage Sandesh Suresh, Pandey Prashant, Nittu Anand, Akash Babu, Dasari Raju, Reddy Nandika Sanjeeba, Rana Nivesh, Melethil Insaf Rahman, Barla Chantanya Krishna, Ghosh Arijit, Mondal Raihan, and Gangwar Shiv Om.
The NDLEA spokesperson further disclosed that operatives in Oyo State apprehended a wanted female drug dealer, Fatima Ilori, also known as Mama Kerosine, on Monday, December 29, 2025. She was described as a key distributor of illegal drugs in Ibadan, the state capital.
The 65-year-old suspect was arrested during an intelligence-driven operation following the earlier seizure of 238.4 kilograms of skunk cannabis linked to her activities. Another woman, Olusanya Abosede, aged 35, was also arrested during the operation at the Onireke/Elekuro axis of Ibadan.
Babafemi also stated that NDLEA officers successfully disrupted drug supply routes allegedly linked to insurgent groups in Borno State with the arrest of two suspected suppliers and the recovery of large quantities of narcotics.
He explained that one of the suspects, Isa Mohammed, 26, was arrested along the Maiduguri–Gamboru Ngala Road on Friday, January 2, 2026, after operatives intercepted 9,150 ampoules of tramadol injection. Another suspect, Musa Samaila, 30, was arrested the same day at Biu Market with 34,000 tramadol capsules.
In Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered no fewer than 400 kilograms of skunk and a van in the Mobolaji Johnson area on New Year’s Day, Thursday, January 1. In a related development, a 39-year-old suspect, Bilya Ibrahim, was arrested at a motor park in Hadejia, Jigawa State, on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, while attempting to transport 260 compressed parcels of skunk weighing 140.8 kilograms from Taraba State to Nguru in Yobe State.
In Kwara State, officers on Tuesday, December 30, recovered 238.5 kilograms of skunk from a suspect’s residence in the Asadam area of Ilorin. Additionally, a total of 32,000 tablets of tramadol and diazepam were seized from another suspect, Abubakar Rabiu, 32, at Bode Saadu in Moro Local Government Area on New Year’s Eve, Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
These developments come amid ongoing court proceedings involving 21 foreign nationals. On Monday, Justice Friday Ogazi of the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the continued detention of the vessel MV San Antonio and its 21 crew members for an additional 14 days over allegations of importing 25.5 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria.
The vessel was initially impounded by the Nigeria Customs Service upon arrival at Apapa Port on December 6, 2025, after sailing from Brazil. Authorities alleged that the cocaine was concealed within a bulk consignment of sugar.
