11 Indian sailors, vessel convicted over cocaine trafficking in Lagos
A Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted 11 Indian sailors and their merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, for trafficking 31.5 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria through the Apapa seaport, imposing fines and restitution totaling about $6 million.
The conviction followed the arrest of the crew and the vessel by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) after 31.5 kilograms of cocaine were discovered concealed in hatch three of the ship at the GDNL terminal in Apapa, Lagos, on January 2, 2026.
The vessel’s master, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, alongside 10 other crew members, was 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, the court adopted plea bargain terms filed by both the prosecution and defence and convicted all 12 defendants under Section 25 of the NDLEA Act. Each defendant was ordered to pay a fine of N100,000, the statutory penalty for the offence.
The court further directed the vessel, listed as the first defendant, to pay restitution of $5.3 million or its equivalent in naira to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Three principal officers of the ship, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, Nilesh Mukuno Bhalerad and Melethil Insaf Rahman, were also ordered to pay restitution of $100,000 each.
Other crew members convicted in the case were directed to pay restitution of $50,000 each, bringing the total financial penalties and restitution orders to approximately $6 million.
Reacting to the judgment, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Buba Marwa, described the ruling as a strong warning to international drug trafficking syndicates. He said the conviction demonstrated that Nigeria was no longer a safe transit route for cocaine or other illicit substances.
Marwa added that the judgment was the third recent conviction involving foreign nationals and vessels linked to drug trafficking, attributing the successes to intelligence-led operations by NDLEA officers. He further commended personnel of the agency’s Apapa Strategic Command for intercepting the cocaine shipment and praised the Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services for securing the conviction.
