By Oluwakemi Kindness
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have seized 31.5 kilograms of cocaine at the Apapa seaport in Lagos.
It also detained 22 Indian crew members of a merchant vessel in one of the agency’s biggest port interceptions at the start of 2026.
A statement on Sunday by the Spokesperson of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, says the cocaine was discovered on Friday, January 2, 2026, concealed in hatch three of the vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, which originated from the Marshall Islands and docked at the GDNL terminal, Apapa.
He said those taken into custody include the master of the vessel, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, and 21 other crew members, all Indian nationals, now under investigation.
The seizure comes as NDLEA operatives uncovered new drug concealment methods, intercepting ketamine, ecstasy and tramadol pills hidden in coffee sachets and book parcels destined for Zambia and the United Kingdom at courier facilities in Lagos on December 24 and 29, 2025.
In a parallel breakthrough, NDLEA arrested a notorious drug kingpin, Fatima Ilori, popularly known as Mama Kerosine, in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The 65-year-old grandmother, long wanted by the agency, was apprehended on December 29, 2025, alongside another suspect, Olusanya Abosede, after 238.4 kilograms of skunk were linked to her drug network.
Across the country, the agency also recorded large-scale seizures of opioids and cannabis, including the recovery of over 400kg of skunk and a van in Lagos on New Year’s Day, as well as the interception of 43,150 doses of tramadol in Borno State, a move NDLEA said disrupted drug supply routes to insurgents.
Further operations in Kwara and Jigawa states led to the seizure of hundreds of kilograms of skunk and 32,000 pills of tramadol and diazepam, with multiple suspects arrested.
Commending the officers involved, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged commands nationwide to sustain the momentum and intensify the agency’s drug control efforts.
The NDLEA said enforcement operations were complemented by its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns carried out in schools, communities and worship centres across several states during the week.
