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A high court in Lagos has convicted 11 Indian sailors and their merchant vessel over the trafficking of 31.5 kilogrammes of cocaine into Nigeria, imposing fines and restitution totalling about $6 million.
The conviction came six months after operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency arrested the crew and seized the vessel following the discovery of the illicit drug at the Apapa seaport in Lagos.
The cocaine was intercepted on January 2, 2026, during an inspection of the vessel at the GDNL terminal, Apapa Port, where the drug was found concealed in Hatch 3 of the ship, which had arrived from the Marshall Islands.
The vessel’s master, Sharma Bhushan, along with 10 other crew members, was arraigned before Justice Joseph Aneke on two counts.
The other defendants are Bharati Kumar, Nevage Suresh, Pandey Prashant, Nuttu Anand, Akash Babu, Nilesh Bhalerad, Melethil Insaf Rahman, Barla Krishna, Prabhasukhan Singu and Jai Parkash.
Justice Aneke adopted a plea bargain agreement entered into by the prosecution and the defence and convicted all 12 defendants under Section 25 of the NDLEA Act, NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi said in a statement on Thursday.
Each of the defendants was ordered to pay a fine of 100,000 naira, the statutory penalty prescribed under the Act.
The vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, was ordered to pay restitution of $5.3 million to the Nigerian government.
The court also directed the vessel’s three principal officers, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, Nilesh Mukuno Bhalerad and Melethil Insaf Rahman, to pay restitution of $100,000 each.
The remaining crew members were ordered to pay $50,000 each as restitution.
NDLEA Chairman Mohamed Buba Marwa described the conviction as a strong warning to international drug trafficking syndicates.
“This judgement is the third of its kind in recent times, following the convictions of foreign nationals and vessels on similar charges,” Marwa said.
“Let it be known that these are not coincidences; they are the direct result of deliberate, intelligence-led operations by our officers who remain vigilant at every port of entry.”
He added that the ruling demonstrated that Nigeria would no longer serve as a transit route for illicit drugs.
“The NDLEA will not relent. Whether you come by air, land, or sea, whether you are a Nigerian or a foreign national, if you attempt to use our waters as a narcotics highway, you will face the full weight of Nigerian law,” Marwa stated.
“Our courts have spoken, and we will continue to give them reason to speak. The war against drug trafficking is one we are winning and we intend to keep it that way.”
