The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has detained 22 Indian crew members of the merchant vessel MV Aruna Hulya following the seizure of 31.5 kilograms of cocaine at the GDNL terminal, Apapa Port, Lagos, on Friday, 2nd January 2026.

In a statement on Sunday, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, revealed that operatives also uncovered ketamine, ecstasy, and tramadol pills hidden in sachets of coffee mix and book parcels destined for Zambia and the United Kingdom. These seizures occurred at a Lagos courier company on 24th and 29th December 2025.

Babafemi confirmed that the detainees include the ship’s master, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, and 21 other crew members. The other suspects are 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.

In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested Fatima Ilori, also known as Mama Kerosine, a 65-year-old female drug kingpin and major illicit drug distributor in Ibadan. She was apprehended in an intelligence-led operation following the seizure of 238.4 kilograms of skunk, a strain of cannabis, and was detained alongside another female suspect, 35-year-old Olusanya Abosede, in the Onireke/Elekuro area of Ibadan on 29th December 2025.

The agency also disrupted drug supply chains to insurgents in Borno State. Isa Mohammed, 26, was arrested on 2nd January after 9,150 ampoules of Tramadol injection were intercepted along the Maiduguri–Gamboru Ngala Road, while Musa Samaila, 30, was caught with 34,000 Tramadol capsules at Biu Market the same day.

Further operations included the recovery of nearly 400 kilograms of skunk along with a van in the Mobolaji Johnson area of Lagos on 1st January. In Jigawa State, 39-year-old Bilya Ibrahim was arrested on 30th December while transporting 140.8 kilograms of compressed skunk from Taraba State to Nguru, Yobe State. In Kwara State, NDLEA officers recovered 238.5 kilograms of skunk from a residence in the Asadam area of Ilorin and seized 32,000 Tramadol and Diazepam pills from 32-year-old Abubakar Rabiu at Bode Saadu, Moro LGA, on 31st December 2025.

These arrests follow ongoing litigation involving 21 foreign nationals presided over by Justice Friday Ogazi of the Federal High Court in Lagos. On Monday, the court extended the detention of the vessel MV San Antonio and its 21 crew members for another 14 days over allegations of smuggling 25.5 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria. The vessel had been seized by the Nigeria Customs Service upon its arrival at Apapa Port on 6th December 2025, having sailed from Brazil with the cocaine reportedly concealed in a bulk shipment of sugar.