By Kolawole Omotola Olaide
A Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted 11 Indian sailors and their merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, for trafficking cocaine into Nigeria through the Apapa Port in Lagos State.
The judgment follows the successful prosecution of the crew members and the vessel by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) after 31.5 kilograms of cocaine were discovered aboard the ship earlier this year.
The vessel and its crew were arrested on January 2, 2026, when NDLEA operatives uncovered the illicit substance concealed in one of the ship’s compartments at the GDNL Terminal in Apapa. Investigators established that the vessel had transported the cocaine consignment into Nigeria from the Marshall Islands.
Those convicted include the ship’s captain, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, alongside ten other Indian nationals identified as Bharati Manoj Kumar, Nevage Sandesh Suresh, Pandey Prashant, Nuttu Anand, Akash Babu, Nilesh Mukuno Bhalerad, Melethil Insaf Rahman, Barla Chantanya Krishna, Prabhasukhan Singu and Jai Parkash.
The defendants were arraigned before Justice Joseph Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on a two-count charge bordering on unlawful importation of narcotics.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, the court adopted the plea bargain agreement reached between the prosecution and defence teams. The court subsequently convicted the vessel and all 11 crew members under the provisions of the NDLEA Act.
Each defendant was ordered to pay a fine of ₦100,000. In addition, the court directed the vessel, listed as the first defendant, to pay restitution of $5.3 million or its naira equivalent to the Federal Government.
The court further ordered the vessel’s principal officers—Sharma Shashi Bhushan, Nilesh Mukuno Bhalerad and Melethil Insaf Rahman—to pay $100,000 each as restitution.
The remaining crew members were directed to pay $50,000 each, bringing the total restitution and penalties to approximately $6 million.
Reacting to the judgment, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described the conviction as a significant victory in Nigeria’s fight against international drug trafficking.
In a statement issued by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Marwa said the ruling sends a strong signal to global drug cartels that Nigeria will not serve as a transit route for narcotics.
According to him, the conviction demonstrates the effectiveness of intelligence-driven operations being carried out by NDLEA officers at the nation’s ports and borders.
He noted that the case represents the third recent conviction involving foreign nationals and vessels linked to drug trafficking, stressing that the successes are the result of deliberate enforcement efforts rather than coincidence.
Marwa reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to pursuing drug traffickers regardless of their nationality or mode of entry into the country.
He also commended officers of the NDLEA Apapa Strategic Command for detecting the concealed cocaine shipment and praised the agency’s prosecution team for securing the convictions.
The NDLEA boss assured Nigerians that the agency would continue strengthening surveillance and intelligence operations across seaports, airports and land borders to prevent the country from being used as a channel for illicit drug trade.
