Court Convicts 11 Indian Sailors, Vessel Over 31.5kg Cocaine Trafficking, Imposes $6m Fine

By Zainab Uzomah|Abuja

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 and imposed fines and restitution totalling about $6 million.

The vessel and its crew members were arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on January 2, 2026, after 31.5 kilograms of cocaine were discovered in Hatch 3 of the ship at the GDNL Terminal, Apapa Port, Lagos.

The defendants were arraigned before Justice Joseph Chukwujekwu Aneke in suit number FHC/L/56C/2026 on a two-countcharge filed by the NDLEA.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, June 11, 2026, the court adopted the plea bargain agreement entered into by the prosecution and the defence and convicted all 12 defendants under Section 25 of the NDLEA Act.

The court sentenced each of the defendants to pay a fine of N100,000.

In addition, the vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, was ordered to pay restitution of $5.3 million to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Three principal officers of the vessel — Sharma Shashi Bhushan, Nilesh Mukuno Bhalerad and Melethil Insaf Rahman — were also ordered to pay restitution of $100,000 each, while the remaining eight crew members are to pay $50,000 each.

Reacting to the judgment, Chairman andChief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Mohamed Buba Marwa, said the conviction sends a strong warning to international drug trafficking syndicates that Nigeria is no longer a transit route for cocaine and other illicit drugs.

Marwa described the ruling as the third recent conviction involving foreign nationals and vessels linked to drug trafficking, attributing the successes to intelligence-led operations by the agency.

He commended officers of the NDLEA Apapa Strategic Command for intercepting the cocaine consignment and praised the agency’s Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services for securing the conviction.

The NDLEA maintained that it would continue to intensify efforts to combat drug trafficking through the country’s air, land and maritime borders.