Nigeria convicts Indian crew, fines vessel $5.3m in cocaine import case
Abdullateef Fowewe
A Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday convicted 11 Indian sailors and their merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, after they were found to have imported 31.5 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria through Apapa seaport earlier this year.
“Barely six months after their arrest by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for importing 31.5 kilograms of cocaine from Marshall Islands into Nigeria through the Apapa seaport in Lagos, 11 Indian sailors and their merchant vessel marked MV Aruna Hulya have been convicted and fined a total of Six Million US Dollars ($6million) by a Federal High Court in Lagos,” NDLEA Director of Media & Advocacy Femi Babafemi said in a statement on Thursday.
The NDLEA took the Indian crew and the vessel into custody after operatives discovered the cocaine concealed in hatch 3 of the ship at the GDNL terminal, Apapa port, on Friday, 2 January 2026. The ship’s master, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, and 10 other crew members were arraigned on two-count charges (suit number FHC/L/56C/2026) before Justice Joseph Chukwujekwu Aneke.
On Thursday 11 June 2026, the court accepted plea-bargain terms filed by prosecution and defence and convicted all 12 defendants under Section 25 of the NDLEA Act.
Each individual was fined 100,000 Naira, the statutory penalty under the Act.
In addition, the vessel (the 1st defendant) was ordered to pay restitution of Five Million Three Hundred Thousand US Dollars ($5,300,000) or its Naira equivalent.
The three principal officers — the vessel master Sharma Shashi Bhushan, Nilesh Mukuno Bhalerad, and Melethil Insaf Rahman (the 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants) — were each ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution.
The remaining crew members (5th to 12th defendants) were ordered to pay $50,000 each.
Reacting to the judgment, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Brig Gen Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd) said the conviction sends a clear message to traffickers.
“Nigeria is no longer a safe corridor for cocaine or any other illicit substance,” he said.
“This judgment is the third of its kind in recent times, following the convictions of foreign nationals and vessels on similar charges.
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,” Marwa added.
He warned that the NDLEA will continue to pursue offenders relentlessly, “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. 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.”
Marwa also commended the Apapa Strategic Command officers for uncovering the consignment buried deep within the cargo and praised the Agency’s Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services for their role in securing the conviction.
