By Nkechi Eze
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have recorded major breakthroughs in the country’s ongoing war against illicit drugs, intercepting consignments of narcotics ingeniously concealed in coffee sachets, arresting 22 Indian crew members over a cocaine shipment at the Lagos port, and dismantling drug distribution networks across several states.
The agency disclosed that various quantities of Ketamine, Ecstasy and Tramadol pills hidden inside sachets of coffee mix and book parcels were intercepted at a courier company in Lagos on 24 and 29 December 2025. The illicit consignments were heading to Zambia and the United Kingdom before being detected by NDLEA operatives.
The seizures came amid a high-profile maritime operation at the GDNL terminal, Apapa port, Lagos, where NDLEA officers on Friday, 2 January 2026, uncovered 31.5 kilograms of cocaine concealed in hatch 3 of a merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, which originated from the Marshall Islands. Following the discovery, the agency took into custody 22 Indian crew members of the vessel, including the Master of the ship, Sharma Shashi Bhushan. Other crew members detained in connection with the cocaine seizure include 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.
In Oyo State, NDLEA operatives on Monday, 29 December 2025, arrested a wanted female drug kingpin in Ibadan in an intelligence-led operation. The suspect, 65-year-old Fatima Ilori, popularly known as Mama Kerosine, is described as a major illicit drug distributor in the state. She was apprehended following the seizure of 238.4 kilograms of skunk, a potent strain of cannabis, linked to her operations. She was arrested alongside another female suspect, Olusanya Abosede, 35, at the Onireke/Elekuro area of Ibadan.
The agency also intensified its clampdown on drug supply routes linked to insurgent activities in Borno State, where two suspected suppliers were arrested on Friday, 2 January 2026. One of them, Isa Mohammed, 26, was apprehended along the Maiduguri–Gamboru Ngala road with 9,150 ampoules of Tramadol Injection, while the other suspect, Musa Samaila, 30, was arrested at Biu market with 34,000 capsules of Tramadol on the same day.
In Lagos, NDLEA officers recovered not less than 400 kilograms of skunk along with a van at the Mobolaji Johnson area on New Year’s Day, Thursday, 1 January 2026. In Jigawa State, a suspect, Bilya Ibrahim, 39, was arrested at a motor park in Hadejia town on Tuesday, 30 December 2025, while attempting to transport 260 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 140.8 kilograms. Investigations revealed that the drugs were procured from Taraba State and were being conveyed to Nguru in Yobe State.
Kwara State also recorded significant seizures, as NDLEA officers on Tuesday, 30 December 2025, recovered 238.50 kilograms of skunk from the residence of a suspect in the Asadam area of Ilorin. In a related operation on New Year’s Eve, Wednesday, 31 December 2025, operatives seized a total of 32,000 pills of Tramadol and Diazepam from another suspect, Abubakar Rabiu, 32, at Bode Saadu in Moro Local Government Area.
Beyond enforcement, NDLEA commands and formations across the country sustained their War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns during the period. Enlightenment activities were carried out at schools, worship centres, workplaces and communities, including lectures at Madrasatu Fadimatul Zahra Sabuwar Abuja Kankia in Katsina State, engagements with members of the Topo Youth Progressive Organisation in Badagry, Lagos, and outreach programmes for residents of Madalla community at the palace of the Hakimi Madalla in Niger State.
Commending the officers and men of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, Apapa, as well as the Oyo, Borno, Lagos, Kwara and Jigawa Commands for the arrests and seizures, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged them and their colleagues nationwide to further intensify the agency’s drug control and enforcement efforts.
