The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has detained 22 Indian crew members of the merchant vessel MV Aruna Hulya after operatives discovered 31.5 kilograms of cocaine hidden in hatch three of the ship at the GDNL terminal in Apapa Port, Lagos, on Friday, January 2, 2026.
In a statement on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi confirmed the arrests, noting that the vessel originated from the Marshall Islands.
Among those detained is the ship’s master, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, alongside 21 crew members.
The suspects named include Bharati Manoj Kumar, Bhalerao Nilesh Mukund, Nadar Anthony Macson David, Kolusu Srinivasa Rao, Sagar Gaurav, Francis Anto Beemas Nester, Jagdeep Singh, Jai Parkash, Prabhukhan Singh, 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.
Babafemi revealed that NDLEA operatives also intercepted consignments of ketamine, ecstasy, and tramadol concealed in coffee sachets and book parcels bound for Zambia and the United Kingdom.
These seizures were made at a courier company in Lagos between December 24 and 29, 2025.
In Oyo State, a 65‑year‑old drug kingpin, Fatima Ilori, popularly known as “Mama Kerosine”, was arrested in Ibadan’s Onireke/Elekuro area.
Linked to 238.4kg of skunk, she was detained alongside another female suspect, Olusanya Abosede, 35.
NDLEA operatives also disrupted supplies to insurgents in Borno State. Isa Mohammed, 26, was caught with 9,150 ampoules of tramadol injection along the Maiduguri–Gamboru Ngala Road, while Musa Samaila, 30, was arrested with 34,000 tramadol capsules at Biu Market on January 2, 2026.
Nationwide Crackdowns
In Lagos, NDLEA officers recovered 400kg of skunk and a van in the Mobolaji Johnson area on New Year’s Day.
In Jigawa State, Bilya Ibrahim, 39, was arrested on December 30, 2025, at Hadejia motor park while attempting to transport 140.8kg of compressed skunk blocks to Nguru, Yobe State.
In Kwara State, operatives seized 238.5kg of skunk from a residence in Ilorin’s Asadam area. Another suspect, Abubakar Rabiu, 32, was arrested at Bode Saadu with 32,000 pills of tramadol and diazepam on New Year’s Eve.
These developments come as the Federal High Court in Lagos extended the detention of the vessel MV San Antonio and its 21 crew members for 14 more days.
Justice Friday Ogazi is presiding over the case, which involves allegations of smuggling 25.5kg of cocaine into Nigeria.
The vessel was seized by the Nigeria Customs Service on December 6, 2025, after arriving from Brazil with the drug allegedly concealed in a sugar consignment.
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