11 Indian sailors, vessel convicted over cocaine importation, fined $6m
A Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted 11 Indian sailors and their merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, over the importation of 31.5 kilogrammes of cocaine into Nigeria through the Apapa seaport and imposed fines and restitution totalling about $6 million. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) disclosed this in a statement issued on […]
A Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted 11 Indian sailors and their merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, over the importation of 31.5 kilogrammes of cocaine into Nigeria through the Apapa seaport and imposed fines and restitution totalling about $6 million.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday by its spokesman, Femi Babafemi.
According to the agency, the vessel and its crew members were arrested on January 2, 2026, after operatives discovered 31.5kg of cocaine concealed in Hatch 3 of the ship at the GDNL Terminal, Apapa Port, Lagos.
The crew members, led by the ship’s master, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, alongside Bharati Manoj Kumar, Nevage Sandesh Suresh, Pandey Prashant, Nuttu Anand, Akash Babu, Nilesh Mukuno Bhalerad, Melethil Insaf Rahman, Barla Chantanya Krishna, Prabhasukhan Singu and Jai Parkash, were subsequently arraigned before Justice Joseph Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos, in suit number FHC/L/56C/2026.
Delivering judgment on Thursday following a plea bargain agreement between the prosecution and the defence, Justice Aneke convicted the 11 crew members and the vessel under Section 25 of the NDLEA Act.
The court ordered each of the crew members to pay a fine of N100,000, being the statutory penalty prescribed under the Act.
In addition, the vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, was ordered to pay restitution of $5.3 million or its naira equivalent to the Federal Government.
The court further directed three principal officers of the vessel — Sharma Shashi Bhushan, Nilesh Mukuno Bhalerad and Melethil Insaf Rahman — to pay restitution of $100,000 each.
The remaining crew members were ordered to pay $50,000 each as restitution to the Federal Government.
Reacting to the judgment, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described the conviction as a strong warning to international drug trafficking syndicates.
According to him, the ruling sends “a resounding message to every drug trafficking network in the world that Nigeria is no longer a safe corridor for cocaine or any other illicit substance.”
Marwa noted that the judgment was the third of its kind involving foreign nationals and vessels in recent times, attributing the successes to intelligence-driven operations by NDLEA officers.
“Whether you come by air, land or sea; whether you are a Nigerian or a foreign national, if you attempt to use our waters as a narcotics highway, you will face the full weight of Nigerian law,” he said.
He commended officers of the Apapa Strategic Command for uncovering the cocaine consignment concealed deep within the cargo of the vessel and also praised the agency’s Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services for successfully prosecuting the case.