Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted consignments of illicit drugs concealed in coffee sachets and arrested 22 Indian crew members of a merchant vessel over a major cocaine seizure at the Apapa seaport in Lagos.
Head of Media and Advocacy of the Agency, Femi Babafemi, disclosed that various quantities of ketamine, ecstasy and tramadol pills were uncovered at a courier company in Lagos on December 24 and 29, 2025. The drugs were ingeniously hidden inside sachets of coffee mix and book parcels destined for Zambia and the United Kingdom.
The seizures coincided with the arrest of 22 Indian nationals aboard a merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, following the discovery of 31.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in hatch three of the ship at the GDNL terminal, Apapa Port, Lagos, on Friday, January 2, 2026. The vessel reportedly originated from the Marshall Islands. Those detained in connection with the cocaine seizure include the Master of the vessel, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, and 21 other crew members.
In a related operation in Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested a wanted female drug kingpin, 65-year-old Fatima Ilori, popularly known as “Mama Kerosine,” in Ibadan on Monday, December 29, 2025. Ilori, described as a major distributor of illicit drugs in the state, was apprehended during an intelligence-led operation alongside another suspect, Olusanya Abosede, 35, at the Onireke/Elekuro area of the state capital. The arrest followed the seizure of 238.4 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, linked to the suspects.
In Borno State, the Agency said it further disrupted the supply chain of illicit drugs to insurgents with the arrest of two suspected suppliers and the seizure of large consignments of tramadol. One suspect, Isa Mohammed, 26, was arrested along the Maiduguri–Gamboru Ngala Road with 9,150 ampoules of tramadol injection on Friday, January 2, 2026, while another suspect, Musa Samaila, 30, was apprehended the same day at Biu Market with 34,000 capsules of tramadol.
Elsewhere, NDLEA operatives recovered no fewer than 400 kilograms of skunk and a van at the Mobolaji Johnson area of Lagos on New Year’s Day, January 1, 2026. In Jigawa State, a suspect, Bilya Ibrahim, 39, was arrested at a motor park in Hadejia town on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, while attempting to transport 260 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 140.8 kilograms from Taraba State to Nguru, Yobe State.
In Kwara State, NDLEA officers on December 30 recovered 238.5 kilograms of skunk from the residence of a suspect in the Asadam area of Ilorin. Another suspect, Abubakar Rabiu, 32, was arrested at Bode Saadu in Moro Local Government Area on December 31, with 32,000 pills of tramadol and diazepam.
Meanwhile, commands and formations of the Agency across the country sustained their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation campaigns during the week, reaching schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities in states including Katsina, Lagos and Niger.
Commending officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI), Apapa, Oyo, Borno, Lagos, Kwara and Jigawa commands for the arrests and seizures, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged them to intensify the Agency’s drug control and enforcement efforts nationwide.
The NDLEA reaffirmed its commitment to tackling drug trafficking and abuse across Nigeria.
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