The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded a series of significant seizures and arrests in its ongoing campaign against drug trafficking in Nigeria. At Lagos’s Apapa Port, authorities discovered 31.5 kg of cocaine aboard the merchant vessel MV Aruna Hulya. The cocaine, originating from the Marshall Islands, was hidden in hatch 3 of the ship. As a result, 22 Indian crew members, including the vessel’s master, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, and 21 others, were taken into custody.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives intercepted shipments of ketamine, ecstasy and tramadol pills concealed in coffee‑mix sachets and book parcels bound for Zambia and the United Kingdom at a courier company in Lagos. Meanwhile, in Oyo State, 65‑year‑old drug kingpin Fatima Ilori—known as “Mama Kerosine”—and 35‑year‑old suspect Olusanya Abosede were arrested in the Onireke/Elekuro area of Ibadan after the seizure of 238.4 kg of “skunk,” a potent strain of cannabis linked to Ilori.
The agency also disrupted drug supplies to insurgents in Borno State, arresting two suspects and confiscating large consignments of illicit substances. In Lagos, a van carrying 400 kg of skunk was recovered in the Mobolaji Johnson area on New Year’s Day. In Jigawa State, a suspect was apprehended while attempting to transport 140.8 kg of skunk, allegedly sourced from Taraba State and destined for Yobe State.
Further seizures occurred in Kwara State, where officers recovered 238.5 kg of skunk from a suspect’s residence and seized 32,000 tablets of tramadol and diazepam from another individual. These actions underscore the NDLEA’s commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks and curbing the availability of illicit substances across Nigeria.
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