By Stephen Simon
A Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted 11 Indian sailors and a merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, over the importation of 31.5 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria, imposing fines and restitution payments amounting to approximately $6 million.
The conviction followed the interception of the illicit drug consignment by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos in January this year.
According to NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, anti-narcotics operatives discovered 31.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in Hatch Three of the vessel at the GDNL Terminal, Apapa, on January 2, 2026, leading to the arrest of the ship and its crew members.
The vessel’s master, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, alongside 10 other crew members, was subsequently arraigned before Justice Joseph Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on a two-count charge bordering on drug trafficking.
Other crew members convicted in the case are 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.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Aneke adopted a plea bargain agreement reached between the prosecution and the defence, resulting in the conviction of all 12 defendants under Section 25 of the NDLEA Act.
The court ordered each of the defendants to pay a statutory fine of N100,000.
In addition, the vessel, listed as the first defendant in the charge, was directed to pay restitution of $5.3 million to the Federal Republic of Nigeria or its equivalent in naira.
The court further ordered three principal officers of the vessel — Sharma Shashi Bhushan, Nilesh Mukuno Bhalerad and Melethil Insaf Rahman — to pay restitution of $100,000 each, while the remaining crew members were directed to pay $50,000 each.
Reacting to the judgment, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, described the conviction as a strong warning to international drug trafficking syndicates seeking to use Nigeria as a transit route for illicit narcotics.
Marwa said the judgment underscored Nigeria’s determination to dismantle drug trafficking networks and protect its territorial waters from criminal exploitation.
“This judgment is the third of its kind in recent times, following the convictions of foreign nationals and vessels on similar charges. These are not coincidences; they are the direct result of deliberate, intelligence-led operations by our officers who remain vigilant at every port of entry,” he said.
He added that Nigeria would no longer serve as a safe corridor for cocaine and other illicit substances, warning that offenders would face the full weight of the law regardless of their nationality or mode of entry.
The NDLEA boss commended officers of the agency’s Apapa Strategic Command for uncovering the concealed shipment and praised the Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services for securing the conviction.
He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to sustaining intelligence-driven operations across the nation’s seaports, airports and land borders as part of ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking and related crimes.
