The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has made a series of major drug busts across Nigeria, seizing cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy, tramadol, and cannabis, according to The Sun. The department has so far arrested 22 Indian crew members linked to a shipment of cocaine at Apapa Port, Lagos.

Drugs found on merchant vessel, 22 Indias arrested

The arrests were made on Friday, January 2, 2026, following the discovery of 31.5 kilograms of cocaine in hatch three of the merchant ship MV Aruna Hulya, according to The Sun report. The ship had sailed from the Marshall Islands. Among those detained was the ship’s master, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, along with 21 crew members. 

Crew members identified are: Bharati Manoj Kumar, Bhalerao Nilesh Mukund, Nadar Anthony Macson David, Kolusu Srinivasa Rao, Sagar Gaurav, Francis Anto Beemas Nester, Jagdeep Singh, Jai Parkash, Prabhukhan Singh, Nevage Sandesh Suresh, Pandey Prashant, Nittu Anand, Akash Babu, Dasari Raju, Reddy Nandika Sanjeeba, Rana Nivesh, Melethil Insaf Rahman, Barla Chantanya Krishna, Ghosh Arijit, Mondal Raihan, Gangwar Shiv Om. (Via The Sun)

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The arrested crew were transferred to NDLEA’s State Criminal Investigation Department in Lagos for further questioning. The report also referred to earlier seizures made on December 24 and 29, 2025, at a courier company in Lagos. Those consignments contained ketamine, ecstasy, and tramadol pills hidden inside coffee mix sachets and parcels that were being sent to Zambia and the United Kingdom. 

The agency had said in November that it arrested 20 Filipino sailors who were caught transporting at least 20 kilograms of cocaine from Brazil to the same port. Earlier in the month, the NDLEA also said it was working with US and British anti-drug agencies to probe a cartel linked to the seizure of 1,000 kilograms of cocaine found in a container at a Lagos port.

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Female drug kingpin caught in Ibadan

In a separate operation in Ibadan, Oyo State, NDLEA arrested 65-year-old Fatima Ilori, known as “Mama Kerosine,” a major distributor of illegal drugs. She was arrested along with 35-year-old Olusanya Abosede in Onireke/Elekuro after 238.4 kilograms of skunk, a potent type of cannabis, were linked to her.

The agency also cracked down on the supply of drugs to insurgents in Borno State. Isa Mohammed, 26, was arrested with 9,150 ampoules of tramadol injections along the Maiduguri–Gamboru Ngala Road on January 2, 2026, according to The Nigeria Guardian. On the same day, Musa Samaila, 30, was caught with 34,000 tramadol capsules at Biu Market.

Other major seizures included:

  • 400 kilograms of skunk were recovered along with a van in Lagos on New Year’s Day.
  • 140.8 kilograms of compressed skunk seized from Bilya Ibrahim, 39, in Hadejia, Jigawa State, on December 30, 2025.
  • 238.5 kilograms of skunk were recovered from a home in Asadam, Ilorin, Kwara State, on December 30, 2025.
  • 32,000 tramadol and diazepam pills were seized from Abubakar Rabiu, 32, at Bode Saadu, Moro LGA, on December 31, 2025.

NDLEA officers have also been educating communities about the dangers of drug use. Their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaigns reached schools, workplaces, worship centres, and local communities. NDLEA Chairman and CEO, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), praised the officers involved in these arrests and seizures.