NDLEA intercepts drugs in coffee sachets, detains 22 Indians over cocaine shipment
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted illicit substances including Ketamine, Ecstasy and Tramadol concealed in sachets of coffee mix and book parcels heading to Zambia and the United Kingdom. The seizures were made at a courier company in Lagos on December 24 and 29, 2025. The agency also took into […]
The vessel from which the Indians were arrested
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted illicit substances including Ketamine, Ecstasy and Tramadol concealed in sachets of coffee mix and book parcels heading to Zambia and the United Kingdom.
The seizures were made at a courier company in Lagos on December 24 and 29, 2025.
The agency also took into custody 22 Indian crew members of a merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, in which 31.5kg of cocaine was seized at the GDNL Terminal, Apapa Port, Lagos, on Friday, January 2, 2026.
In a statement on Sunday, the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said those detained in connection with the 31.5kg cocaine coming from Marshall Islands were the Master of the vessel, Sharma Shashi Bhushan; with the 21 others: 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.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Oyo State on Monday, December 29, 2025, arrested a wanted female drug kingpin who is a major distributor in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The 65-year-old woman, Fatima Ilori, popularly known as Mama Kerosine, was nabbed in an intelligence-led operation following the seizure of 238.4kg skunk, a strain of hemp, linked to her.
She was arrested along with another female suspect, Olusanya Abosede (35), in the Onireke/Elekuro area of Ibadan.
In Borno, the supply chain of illicit drugs to insurgents was further disrupted with the arrest of two suppliers and seizure of large consignments of illicit substances.
While one of the suspects, Isa Mohammed (26), was arrested by NDLEA operatives following the interception of 9,150 ampoules of tramadol injection on the Maiduguri-Gamboru Ngala road on Friday, January 2, 2026, the other suspect, Musa Samaila (30), was nabbed with 34,000 capsules of tramadol at the Biu market on the same day.