The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), said it has taken into custody 22 Indian crew members of a merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, in which 31.5 kilograms of cocaine were seized by its operatives at the GDNL terminal, Apapa port, Lagos on Friday, January 2, 2026.
This is just as the agency has also intercepted various quantities of illicit substances, including Ketamine, Ecstasy and Tramadol pills concealed in sachets of coffee mix and book parcel heading to Zambia and the United Kingdom.
The seizures were made at a courier company in Lagos on December 24 and 25, 2025, according to Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy.
Read also: NDLEA arrests ex-convict, 3 others, over UK-bound cocaine consignment
“Those detained in connection with the discovery of the 31.5kg cocaine in hatch 3 of the ship which originated from Marshall Islands, include the Master of the Vessel, Sharma Shashi Bhushan and 21 other crew members, namely: 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”.
Wanted female drug kingpin ‘Mama Kerosine’ arrested in Ibadan
NDLEA operatives in Oyo state have also arrested a wanted female drug kingpin who is a major illicit drug distributor in Ibadan, the state capital.
The agency revealed that the 65-year-old grandma, Fatima Ilori, popularly known as Mama Kerosine was nabbed in an intelligence-led operation following the seizure of 238.4kg skunk, a strain of cannabis, linked to her. She was arrested along with another female suspect Olusanya Abosede, 35, at Onireke/Elekuro area of Ibadan.
“In Borno state, the supply chain of illicit drugs to insurgents was further disrupted with the arrest of two suppliers and seizure of large consignments of illicit substances.
Read also: NDLEA arrests female drug kingpin with 23.50kg cocaine worth N5bn
One of the suspects, Isa Mohammed, 26, was arrested by NDLEA operatives following the interception of 9,150 ampoules of Tramadol Injection along Maiduguri-Gamboru Ngala road on Friday 2nd January 2026, the other suspect Musa Samaila, 30, was nabbed with 34,000 capsules of Tramadol at Biu market same day.
“Not less than 400kg skunk was recovered along with a van at Mobolaji Johnson area of Lagos on New Year’s Day, Thursday 1st January, while a suspect Bilya Ibrahim, 39, was arrested at a motor park in Hadejia town, Jigawa State, on Tuesday 30th December 2025 while trying to transport 260 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 140.8kg, which he procured from Taraba State to Nguru, Yobe State.
“In Kwara state, NDLEA officers on Tuesday 30th December recovered 238.50kg skunk from the home of a suspect at Asadam area of Ilorin, while a total of 32,000 pills of tramadol and diazepam were seized from another suspect Abubakar Rabiu, 32, at Bode Saadu, Morro LGA, on new year eve, Wednesday 31st December 2025”.
