The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested and detained the vessel MV Aruna Hulya and its 22 Indian crew members at the GDNL terminal, Apapa port in Lagos, following the discovery of 31.5 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed on board.
The vessel, which originated from the Marshall Islands, was intercepted on 2 January 2026, with the cocaine recovered from hatch three.
Those detained include the Master of the vessel, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, alongside 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.
According to a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, operatives seized consignments of illicit substances including ketamine, ecstasy and tramadol pills at a courier company on 24 and 29 December 2025.
The drugs were concealed in sachets of coffee mix and in a parcel containing a book, and were destined for Zambia and the United Kingdom.
Beyond Lagos, NDLEA operations across several states led to multiple arrests and large seizures. In Oyo State, operatives on Monday arrested a wanted female drug kingpin in Ibadan.
The suspect, 65-year-old Fatima Ilori, popularly known as Mama Kerosine, was apprehended during an intelligence-led operation after 238.4 kilogrammes of skunk, a strain of cannabis, linked to her was seized. She was arrested alongside another female suspect, Olusanya Abosede, 35, in the Onireke and Elekuro area of the state capital.
In Borno State, the agency said it disrupted drug supply routes to insurgents with the arrest of two suspects and the seizure of large quantities of illicit substances. Isa Mohammed, 26, was arrested along the Maiduguri to Gamboru Ngala road on Friday, 2 January 2026, with 9,150 ampoules of tramadol injection, while Musa Samaila, 30, was apprehended the same day at Biu market with 34,000 capsules of tramadol.
In Lagos, not less than 400 kilogrammes of skunk were recovered along with a van at the Mobolaji Johnson area on New Year’s Day, Thursday, 1 January. In Jigawa State, a suspect, Bilya Ibrahim, 39, was arrested at a motor park in Hadejia town on Tuesday, 30 December 2025, while attempting to transport 260 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 140.8 kilogrammes from Taraba State to Nguru in Yobe State.
Further seizures were recorded in Kwara State, where NDLEA officers on Tuesday, 30 December recovered 238.5 kilogrammes of skunk from the residence of a suspect in the Asadam area of Ilorin.
On New Year’s Eve, Wednesday, 31 December 2025, a total of 32,000 pills of tramadol and diazepam were seized from another suspect, Abubakar Rabiu, 32, at Bode Saadu in Moro Local Government Area.
Commending the officers and men of the DOGI, Apapa, Oyo, Borno, Lagos, Kwara and Jigawa commands for the arrests and seizures, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), urged them and their colleagues nationwide to further intensify the agency’s ongoing drug control efforts.