Court Fines Indian Sailors, Vessel, $6m for Cocaine Trafficking

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, ordering fines and restitution payments totalling about $6 million.

Justice Joseph Chukwujekwu Aneke delivered the judgement after adopting a plea bargain agreement reached between the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Defendants, leading to their conviction under Section 25 of the NDLEA Act.

 The case stemmed from the seizure of 31.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in Hatch Three of the vessel at the GDNL Terminal, Apapa Port, on January 2, 2026. The illicit consignment was discovered by NDLEA operatives during an intelligence-led operation.

 Following the discovery, the vessel’s master, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, and 10 other crew members were arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on drug trafficking before the Federal High Court in Lagos.

 In its judgement, the court ordered each of the convicted Defendants to pay a statutory fine of N100,000. The vessel, listed as the 1st Defendant,  was further directed to pay restitution of $5.3 million to the Federal Government or its equivalent in Naira. The court also ordered three principal officers of the vessel to pay $100,000 each as restitution, while the remaining crew members were directed to pay $50,000 each.

 Reacting to the judgement, NDLEA Chairman, Rtd Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa, described the conviction as a clear warning to international drug trafficking syndicates seeking to use Nigeria as a transit point for narcotics, stressing that the country would no longer tolerate such criminal activities.

 Marwa commended officers of the agency’s Apapa Strategic Command and its Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services for securing the conviction, reaffirming the NDLEA’s commitment to intelligence-driven operations aimed at combating drug trafficking through the nation’s ports, airports and land borders.