Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted consignments of illicit drugs concealed in sachets of coffee mix and arrested 22 Indian crew members of a merchant vessel linked to the seizure of 31.5 kilograms of cocaine at the Apapa Port, Lagos.
The Agency said the drugs comprising ketamine, ecstasy and tramadol pills were recovered at a courier company in Lagos on December 24 and 29, 2025, with the consignments disguised as coffee sachets and book parcels heading to Zambia and the United Kingdom.
According to the Director, Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, the interceptions came just as NDLEA operatives at the GDNL Terminal, Apapa Port, uncovered 31.5kg of cocaine hidden in hatch three of MV Aruna Hulya, a vessel that originated from the Marshall Islands, during an operation carried out on Friday, January 2, 2026.
Babafemi disclosed that 22 Indian crew members of the vessel were taken into custody in connection with the cocaine haul. Those detained include the Master of the vessel, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, and 21 other crew members: 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.
Meanwhile, in Oyo State, NDLEA operatives on Monday, December 29, 2025, arrested a wanted female drug kingpin, Fatima Ilori, popularly known as “Mama Kerosine,” following an intelligence-led operation in Ibadan. The 65-year-old grandmother was apprehended at the Onireke/Elekuro area alongside another suspect, Olusanya Abosede, 35, after the seizure of 238.4kg of skunk linked to her.
In Borno State, NDLEA further disrupted drug supply routes to insurgents with the arrest of two suspected suppliers and the seizure of large consignments of illicit substances. A suspect, Isa Mohammed, 26, was arrested along the Maiduguri–Gamboru Ngala road with 9,150 ampoules of tramadol injection, while another suspect, Musa Samaila, 30, was nabbed at Biu market with 34,000 capsules of tramadol on Friday, January 2, 2026.
Elsewhere, NDLEA operatives recovered over 400kg of skunk and a van at the Mobolaji Johnson area of Lagos on New Year’s Day, while a suspect, Bilya Ibrahim, 39, was arrested at a motor park in Hadejia town, Jigawa State, with 260 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 140.8kg being transported from Taraba to Yobe State.
In Kwara State, NDLEA officers recovered 238.5kg of skunk from a residence in the Asadam area of Ilorin, while another suspect, Abubakar Rabiu, 32, was arrested at Bode Saadu in Moro Local Government Area with 32,000 pills of tramadol and diazepam.
Babafemi added that the Agency’s commands nationwide sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns during the period, including enlightenment lectures at Madrasatu Fadimatul Zahra Sabuwar Abuja Kankia in Katsina State, engagement with Topo Youth Progressive Organisation in Badagry, Lagos, and community outreach at the palace of the Hakimi of Madalla in Niger State.
He noted that the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) and the Apapa, Oyo, Borno, Lagos, Kwara and Jigawa Commands for the arrests and seizures, urging them to intensify the Agency’s ongoing drug control efforts nationwide.
