A Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and fined 11 Indian sailors and their vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, a total of $6 million after they were found guilty of importing 31.5 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria through the Apapa Seaport.
The case followed an operation by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), which intercepted the ship at the GDNL Terminal, Apapa Port, where officers discovered the illicit drug concealed in one of the vessel’s compartments.
The vessel and its crew were taken into custody after the discovery, and all 12 defendants, including the ship’s master and 10 other crew members, were later arraigned before Justice Joseph Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The court ruled on a plea bargain agreement filed by both the prosecution and defence, convicting the defendants under relevant provisions of the NDLEA Act. Each individual was also fined in addition to the major financial penalties imposed on the vessel and senior crew members.
MV Aruna Hulya was ordered to pay $5.3 million in restitution to the Federal Government, while three senior officers were directed to pay $100,000 each. The remaining crew members were ordered to pay $50,000 each as part of the judgment.
The NDLEA Chairman, Mohammed Buba Marwa, described the ruling as a strong warning to international drug trafficking networks, stressing that Nigeria’s ports are no longer safe routes for narcotics smuggling.
He commended officers of the Apapa Strategic Command for intercepting the shipment and praised the agency’s legal team for securing the conviction, adding that the agency remains committed to intensifying its crackdown on drug trafficking across all entry points.
Marwa warned that anyone attempting to use Nigerian territory for drug trafficking—whether by air, land, or sea—would face the full force of the law.
