A Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted 11 Indian sailors and their merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, over the trafficking of 31.5 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria and imposed fines and restitution totalling about $6 million.
The conviction came barely six months after operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency arrested the crew and seized the vessel following the discovery of the illicit drug at the Apapa seaport in Lagos.
The cocaine was intercepted by NDLEA operatives on January 2, 2026, during an inspection of the vessel at the GDNL terminal, Apapa Port, where 31.5kg of cocaine was found concealed in Hatch 3 of the ship, which had arrived from the Marshall Islands.
The vessel’s master, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, alongside 10 other crew members, was subsequently arraigned before Justice Joseph Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on a two-count charge in suit number FHC/L/56C/2026.
The other defendants
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