Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted consignments of illicit drugs concealed in parcels destined for Zambia and the United Kingdom and arrested 22 Indian crew members of a merchant vessel linked to a 31.5-kilogram cocaine seizure at the Apapa port in Lagos.
The agency said the intercepted drugs included Ketamine, Ecstasy and Tramadol pills hidden in sachets of coffee mix and a book parcel. The seizures were made at a courier company in Lagos on December 24 and 29, 2025.
The development coincided with the arrest of crew members of MV Aruna Hulya, where 31.5kg of cocaine was discovered by NDLEA operatives at the GDNL terminal, Apapa port, Lagos, on Friday, January 2, 2026.
In a statement signed by the Director, Media & Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, the agency said those taken into custody in connection with the cocaine discovered in hatch three of the vessel, which originated from the Marshall Islands, included the Master of the Vessel, Sharma Bhushan, and 21 other crew members.
Those listed as alleged crew members are Bharati Kumar; Bhalerao Mukund; Nadar Macson David; Kolusu Rao; Sagar Gaurav; Francis Nester; Jagdeep Singh; Jai Parkash; Prabhukhan Singh; Nevage Suresh; Pandey Prashant; Nittu Anand; Akash Babu; Dasari Raju; Reddy Sanjeeba; Rana Nivesh; Melethil Rahman; Barla Krishna; Ghosh Arijit; Mondal Raihan; and Gangwar Om.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA said its operatives in Oyo State arrested an alleged female drug kingpin believed to be a major distributor of illicit drugs in Ibadan, the state capital.
“The 65-year-old grandma, 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,” the statement said.
In Borno State, the agency said it disrupted a supply chain of illicit drugs to insurgents with the arrest of two suspected suppliers and the seizure of large consignments of drugs.
“While 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,” it said.
The NDLEA further disclosed that about 400 kilograms of skunk were recovered along with a van at the Mobolaji Johnson area of Lagos on New Year’s Day, Thursday, January 1.
It also said a suspect, Bilya Ibrahim, 39, was arrested at a motor park in Hadejia town, Jigawa State, on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, while allegedly attempting to transport 260 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 140.8kg, procured from Taraba State and bound for 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 in Morro LGA, on new year eve, Wednesday 31st December 2025,” the agency added.
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