Court Fines Indian Sailors and Vessel $6 million for Cocaine Trafficking.

A Federal High Court in Lagos convicted 11 Indian sailors and the merchant vessel MV Aruna Hulya for importing 31.5 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria, imposing fines and restitution that total approximately $6 million.

Justice Joseph Chukwujekwu Aneke delivered the judgment after accepting a plea‑bargain agreement reached between the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the defendants, resulting in convictions under Section 25 of the NDLEA Act.

The case arose when NDLEA operatives seized 31.5 kilograms of cocaine hidden in Hatch Three of the vessel at the GDNL Terminal, Apapa Port, on 2 January 2026 during an intelligence‑led operation.

After the seizure, the vessel’s master, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, and ten other crew members were arraigned on two counts related to drug trafficking before the Federal High Court in Lagos.

In its ruling, the court ordered each convicted defendant to pay a statutory fine of N100,000. The vessel, listed as the first defendant, was directed to pay restitution of $5.3 million to the Federal Government or its equivalent in Naira. The court also required 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.

NDLEA Chairman, Rtd Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa, said the conviction sends a clear warning to international drug‑trafficking syndicates that Nigeria will no longer tolerate using its ports as transit points for narcotics.

Marwa praised 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.