The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted consignments of illicit drugs concealed in coffee sachets and detained 22 Indian crew members of a merchant vessel over the seizure of 31.5 kilograms of cocaine at the Apapa seaport in Lagos.
This was disclosed on Sunday by Femi Babafemi, the spokesman of the agency in a statement that drugs such asKetamine, Ecstasy and Tramadol pills were discovered at a courier company in Lagos on December 24 and 29, 2025.
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“The consignments were hidden in sachets of coffee mix and book parcels destined for Zambia and the United Kingdom”.
In another operation, NDLEA operatives on Friday, January 2, 2026, seized 31.5kg of cocaine aboard MV Aruna Hulya at the GDNL terminal, Apapa port. The vessel, which originated from the Marshall Islands, had the cocaine concealed in hatch three.
“Following the discovery, NDLEA detained the ship’s master, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, alongside 21 other Indian crew members in connection with the shipment”, the statement added.
“Meanwhile, in Oyo State, NDLEA operatives arrested a wanted female drug kingpin, Fatima Ilori, popularly known as Mama Kerosine, during an intelligence-led operation in Ibadan on December 29, 2025”.
“The 65-year-old suspect was arrested at the Onireke/Elekuro area alongside another female suspect, Olusanya Abosede, 35, following the seizure of 238.4kg of skunk linked to her”, the spokesman said.
In Borno State, Babafemi said, it disrupted drug supply chains to insurgents with the arrest of two suspects and seizure of large quantities of illicit drugs.
“Isa Mohammed, 26, was arrested along the Maiduguri–Gamboru Ngala road with 9,150 ampoules of Tramadol injection, while Musa Samaila, 30, was apprehended at Biu market with 34,000 capsules of Tramadol on the same day”.
“In Lagos, NDLEA operatives recovered about 400kg of skunk and a van at the Mobolaji Johnson area on New Year’s Day. Similarly, in Jigawa State, a suspect, Bilya Ibrahim, 39, was arrested at a motor park in Hadejia on December 30, 2025, while attempting to transport 260 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 140.8kg from Taraba State to Yobe State”.
“In Kwara State, officers recovered 238.5kg of skunk from a suspect’s residence in the Asadam area of Ilorin on December 30. Another suspect, Abubakar Rabiu, 32, was arrested at Bode Saadu in Moro Local Government Area on December 31 with 32,000 pills of Tramadol and Diazepa”..
NDLEA said its commands across the country sustained anti-drug sensitisation campaigns under its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) initiative.
Outreach activities were conducted in schools, worship centres and communities in states including Katsina, Lagos and Niger.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), urged personnel nationwide to intensify ongoing drug control efforts.
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