National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded major drug seizures in Lagos and other states, including the interception of 31.5 kilograms of cocaine at the Apapa port and the arrest of 22 Indian crew members linked to the shipment.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a statement on Sunday, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said the cocaine was recovered from a merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, at the GNL terminal in Apapa on January 2, 2026.
Those taken into custody include the ship’s captain, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, and 21 other crew members. The vessel was said to have sailed from the Marshall Islands.
Babafemi also disclosed that the agency uncovered drug consignments concealed in coffee sachets at a courier company in Lagos. According to him, various quantities of Ketamine, Ecstasy, and Tramadol pills concealed in sachets of coffee mix and a book parcel heading to Zambia and the United Kingdom were seized during operations carried out on December 24 and 29, 2025.
Beyond Lagos, NDLEA operatives made several high-profile arrests across the country. In Oyo State, officers arrested a 65-year-old suspected drug kingpin, Fatima Ilori, popularly known as Mama Kerosine.
Babafemi said she was wanted in connection with large cannabis trafficking and was tracked down through intelligence-led operations after the seizure of 238.4 kilograms of skunk linked to her. She was arrested alongside Olusanya Abosede at the Onireke area of Ibadan.
In Borno State, NDLEA said it disrupted local drug distribution networks with the arrest of two suspects and the recovery of large quantities of Tramadol. Isa Mohammed was found with 9,150 ampoules of Tramadol injection, while Musa Samaila was arrested at Biu market with 34,000 capsules of the same substance.
The agency also reported multiple cannabis seizures in Lagos, Jigawa, and Kwara States, including hundreds of kilograms of skunk recovered during raids and stop-and-search operations. NDLEA said these operations form part of its nationwide clampdown on drug trafficking and abuse.
Babafemi added that the agency continued its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities.
NDLEA chairman, Buba Marwa, commended officers involved in the operations and urged them to sustain the momentum in the fight against illicit drugs.
