Illicit Drugs In Coffee Sachets Seized, 22 Indian Crew Members Detained

National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted various quantities of illicit substances, including Ketamine, Ecstasy and Tramadol pills, concealed in sachets of coffee mix and book parcels heading to Zambia and the United Kingdom (UK).

The seizures were made at a courier company in Lagos on December 24th and 29, 2025.

This is even as the NDLEA arrested 22 Indian crew members of a merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, in which 31.5 kilogrammes of cocaine were seized by operatives at the GDNL terminal, Apapa port, Lagos, on Friday, January 2, 2026.

NDLEA’s spokesperson Femi Babafemi said those detained in connection with the discovery of the 31.5kg cocaine in hatch 3 of the ship, which originated from the Marshall Islands, include the master of the vessel, Sharma Shashi Bhushan and 21 other crew members.

They 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 and Gangwar Shiv Om.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Oyo State on December 29, 2025 arrested a wanted female drug kingpin described as a major illicit drug distributor in Ibadan, the state capital.

The 65-year-old grandma, Fatima Ilori, popularly known as Mama Kerosine, was nabbed in an intelligence-led operation following the seizure of 238.4kg skunk, a strain of cannabis, linked to her.

She was arrested along with another female suspect, Olusanya Abosede, 35, at Onireke/Elekuro area of Ibadan.

In Borno State, the supply chain of illicit drugs to insurgents was further disrupted with the arrest of two suppliers and seizure of large consignments of illicit substances.

While one of the suspects, Isa Mohammed, 26, was arrested by NDLEA operatives following the interception of 9,150 ampoules of Tramadol Injection on Maiduguri-Gamboru Ngala Road on Friday, January 2, 2026, the other suspect, Musa Samaila, 30, was nabbed with 34,000 capsules of Tramadol at Biu Market on the same day.

Not less than 400kg of skunk was recovered along with a van at Mobolaji Johnson area of Lagos on New Year’s day, Thursday, January 1, while a suspect Bilya Ibrahim, 39, was arrested at a motor park in Hadejia town, Jigawa State on Tuesday, December 30, 2025 while trying to transport 260 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 140.8kg, which he procured from Taraba State to Nguru, Yobe State.