A Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted 11 Indian sailors and their merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, for trafficking 31.5 kilogrammes of cocaine into Nigeria, imposing fines and restitution totaling nearly $6 million.
The conviction follows the arrest of the crew and seizure of the vessel by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) about six months ago, after the cocaine was discovered at the Apapa seaport in Lagos.
On January 2, 2026, NDLEA officials intercepted the cocaine during an inspection at the GDNL terminal, Apapa Port.
The drugs, concealed in Hatch 3 of the ship—which had arrived from the Marshall Islands led to the arrest of the vessel’s master, Sharma Bhushan, and 10 other crew members.
They were arraigned before Justice Joseph Aneke on a two-count charge in suit number FHC/L/56C/2026. The defendants are Bharati Kumar, Nevage Suresh, Pandey Prashant, Nuttu Anand, Akash Babu, Nilesh Bhalerad, Melethil Insaf Rahman, Barla Krishna, Prabhasukhan Singu, and Jai Parkash.
According to NDLEA spokesperson Femi Babafemi, Justice Aneke adopted a plea bargain agreement reached between the prosecution and the defence, convicting all 12 defendants under Section 25 of the NDLEA Act.
Each defendant was fined N100,000, the statutory penalty under the Act. The vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, was also ordered to pay $5.3 million in restitution to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In his judgement delivered on June 11, 2026, Justice Aneke stated: All 12 defendants are hereby convicted under Section 25 of the NDLEA Act and sentenced to pay the sum of 100,000 Naira each, which is the penalty for the offence under the Act. In addition, the 1st defendant, which is the vessel, shall pay restitution to the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the sum of $5,300,000 or its equivalent in naira.
The court further directed the vessel’s three principal officers—Sharma Shashi Bhushan, Nilesh Mukuno Bhalerad, and Melethil Insaf Rahman—to pay $100,000 each in restitution, while the remaining crew members were ordered to pay $50,000 each.
NDLEA Chairman and CEO, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), described the conviction as a strong warning to international drug trafficking networks. “This judgement is the third of its kind in recent times, following convictions of foreign nationals and vessels on similar charges.
These are the result of deliberate, intelligence-led operations by our officers, who remain vigilant at every port of entry, he said. Marwa emphasized that Nigeria would no longer serve as a transit route for illicit drugs and reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to combating drug trafficking by air, land, or sea.
He also commended the agency’s Apapa Strategic Command for uncovering the cocaine consignment and praised the Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services for securing the conviction.
