The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted large quantities of illicit drugs concealed in coffee sachets and book parcels while detaining 22 Indian crew members over a cocaine shipment at Apapa Port, Lagos, in what the agency described as a “major crackdown” on transnational drug trafficking.
The seizures at a Lagos-based courier company on 24th and 29th December 2025 included ketamine, ecstasy, and tramadol pills hidden inside coffee mix sachets and parcels destined for Zambia and the United Kingdom.
The Guardian reports that on Friday, January 2, 2026, NDLEA officers arrested 22 crew members of the merchant vessel MV Aruna Hulya, including the ship’s master, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, following the discovery of 31.5 kilograms of cocaine in hatch three of the vessel, which had originated from the Marshall Islands.
Others detained included Bharati Manoj Kumar, Bhalerao Nilesh Mukund, Nadar Anthony Macson David, Kolusu Srinivasa Rao, and Sagar Gaurav, among others. All have been transferred to the NDLEA’s State Criminal Investigation Department in Lagos for further investigation.
In a separate intelligence-led operation in Ibadan, Oyo State, NDLEA officers arrested a 65-year-old female drug kingpin, Fatima Ilori, known as “Mama Kerosine”, alongside 35-year-old Olusanya Abosede.
The operation followed the seizure of 238.4 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, linked to Ilori. Both were apprehended in the Onireke/Elekuro area of Ibadan.
The agency also reported disrupting supply chains to insurgents in Borno State, arresting Isa Mohammed, 26, with 9,150 ampoules of Tramadol injection along the Maiduguri–Gamboru Ngala Road, and Musa Samaila, 30, with 34,000 Tramadol capsules at Biu Market on 2nd January.
Further seizures included 400 kilograms of skunk recovered in Lagos on New Year’s Day and 140.8 kilograms of compressed skunk intercepted from Bilya Ibrahim, 39, in Hadejia town, Jigawa State, on 30th December 2025.
In Kwara State, NDLEA officers recovered 238.5 kilograms of skunk from a residence in Asadam, Ilorin, and 32,000 tramadol and diazepam pills from another suspect, Abubakar Rabiu, 32, at Bode Saadu, Moro LGA, on 31st December.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended officers across Lagos, Oyo, Borno, Kwara, and Jigawa States for the seizures and arrests, urging them to intensify efforts in the ongoing War Against Drug Abuse (WADA).
He stressed the importance of sustained operations, stating, “Our officers must continue to disrupt both domestic and transnational drug networks while sensitising communities on the dangers of drug abuse.”
NDLEA formations also conducted WADA awareness campaigns last week in schools, workplaces, worship centres, and communities, including Madrasatu Fadimatul Zahra Sabuwar Abuja in Kankia, Katsina State; Topo Youth Progressive Organisation in Badagry, Lagos; and the Madalla community in Niger State.
