Eleven Indian sailors and their merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, have been convicted and ordered to pay a total of $6 million after a Federal High Court in Lagos found them guilty in connection with the importation of 31.5 kilograms of cocaine through the Apapa seaport.

The conviction followed their arrest by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) after the cocaine was discovered hidden in hatch 3 of the vessel at the GDNL terminal in Apapa, Lagos, on 2 January 2026.

According to a statement issued by NDLEA spokesman Femi Babafemi on Thursday, the Indian crew members and the vessel were taken into custody following the seizure.

The vessel’s master, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, alongside 10 crew members — 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 — were subsequently arraigned before Justice Joseph Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on a two-count charge in suit number FHC/L/56C/2026.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, 11 June 2026, after considering plea bargain agreements filed by both the prosecution and defence, the court convicted all 12 defendants under Section 25 of the NDLEA Act.

The court ordered each defendant to pay a fine of N100,000, the statutory penalty for the offence. In addition, the vessel, listed as the first defendant, was directed to pay restitution of $5.3 million or its equivalent in naira to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The court also ordered the vessel’s three principal officers; Sharma Shashi Bhushan, Nilesh Mukuno Bhalerad and Melethil Insaf Rahman to pay restitution of $100,000 each, while the remaining crew members were ordered to pay $50,000 each.

Reacting to the judgment, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Buba Marwa, said the ruling sends a strong warning to international drug trafficking networks.

“Nigeria is no longer a safe corridor for cocaine or any other illicit substance,” Marwa said.

He described the judgment as the third recent conviction involving foreign nationals and vessels linked to drug trafficking offences.

“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,” he said.

Marwa warned that the agency would continue pursuing traffickers regardless of their nationality or route of entry into the country.

“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. 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,” he said.

The NDLEA boss also commended officers of the agency’s Apapa Strategic Command for detecting the cocaine concealed within the cargo of the vessel and praised the Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services for securing the convictions.

The judgment marks one of the largest financial penalties imposed in a recent NDLEA prosecution involving foreign crew members and a commercial vessel accused of trafficking cocaine into Nigeria through its seaports. (AriseNews TV)

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