The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has taken into custody 20 Filipino crew members following the interception of 20 kilogrammes of cocaine aboard the vessel MV Nord Bosporus at Apapa seaport in Lagos.
The ship had arrived from the port of Santos in Brazil.
According to the NDLEA, the contraband was discovered on Sunday, 16 November 2025. The Master of the vessel, Captain Quino Eugene Corpus, along with 19 other crew members, were arrested and brought before the Federal High Court, Lagos.
The agency added that on Thursday, 20 November, Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos granted an initial 14-day detention order for both the vessel and the crew to allow for further investigation.
Preliminary investigations indicate that this was the vessel’s first voyage to Nigeria and Africa, having primarily transported coal between Colombia and Brazil. Captain Corpus had been with the vessel for approximately three months.
The NDLEA noted similarities to a previous case in 2021, in which 10 Thai sailors were arrested aboard MV Chayanee Naree for trafficking 32.9 kilogrammes of cocaine from Brazil. The Guardian reports that the sailors, alongside nine Nigerian suspects, were later convicted and fined $4.3 million by the Federal High Court in Lagos.
In a statement, NDLEA Chairman, Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), praised the vigilance of officers at the Apapa Strategic Command and the Directorate of Seaport Operations.
“The cocaine seizure is not just an operational success but a clear demonstration of our heightened capacity and unwavering resolve,” he said.
Marwa warned both international and domestic collaborators in the drug trade that “Nigeria is not, and will never be, your space or your foothold. The NDLEA operates with zero tolerance and will not permit any illicit drug to pass through our borders, whether by air, land, or sea.”
He added that Nigerians who aid foreign syndicates risk severe legal consequences.
“You are not just committing a crime; you are betraying your nation’s future. The consequences of aiding and abetting drug trafficking will be severe and unrelenting. We are committed to using the full force of the law to dismantle structures, seize illicit assets, and secure long-term incarceration,” Marwa stated.
230 arrested in Kano
Meanwhile, no fewer than 230 suspects are in the custody of the NDLEA, Kano branch following a successful crackdown on peddlers of illicit substances across hot spots.
The major breakthrough in the fight against drug abuse and related criminal activities also led to the seizure of large quantities of illicit substances and weapons during a 30-day intensive operation.
Briefing journalists on Friday, Commander, NDLEA Kano Strategic Command, Abubakar Idris Ahmad, disclosed that the operations were executed in collaboration with sister agencies.
The sister agencies, according to the Narcotic chief, include Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), and the Department of State Services (DSS), under the Kano State Joint Taskforce for Peace Restoration and Youth Rehabilitation.
