The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted illicit drugs concealed in coffee sachets bound for Zambia and the United Kingdom and detained 22 Indian crew members over a 31.5 kilogram cocaine shipment uncovered at the Apapa seaport in Lagos.
The agency said the seizures at a courier company in Lagos on December 24 and 29, 2025, included quantities of ketamine, ecstasy and tramadol pills hidden inside sachets of coffee mix and book parcels.
In a related operation, NDLEA operatives on Friday, January 2, 2026, seized 31.5kg of cocaine from hatch three of a merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, at the GDNL terminal, Apapa port. The ship, which originated from the Marshall Islands, had 22 Indian crew members on board who were taken into custody. Those detained include the vessel’s master, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, and 21 other crew members.
Meanwhile, in Oyo State, NDLEA operatives on Monday, December 29, arrested a wanted female drug kingpin, Fatima Ilori, popularly known as “Mama Kerosine,” in Ibadan. The 65-year-old was apprehended during an intelligence-led operation following the seizure of 238.4 kilograms of skunk linked to her activities. Another female suspect, Olusanya Abosede, 35, was also arrested at the Onireke/Elekuro area of the state capital.
In Borno State, efforts to disrupt drug supply chains to insurgents led to the arrest of two suspects and the seizure of large quantities of tramadol. Isa Mohammed, 26, was arrested along the Maiduguri–Gamboru Ngala road with 9,150 ampoules of tramadol injection, while Musa Samaila, 30, was nabbed with 34,000 capsules of tramadol at Biu market on the same day.
Further seizures were recorded across the country. In Lagos, operatives recovered about 400kg of skunk and a van at the Mobolaji Johnson area on New Year’s Day. In Jigawa State, a suspect, Bilya Ibrahim, 39, was arrested on December 30 in Hadejia while attempting to transport 140.8kg of skunk from Taraba State to Yobe State.
In Kwara State, NDLEA officers recovered 238.5kg of skunk from a suspect’s residence in Ilorin on December 30, while 32,000 pills of tramadol and diazepam were seized from another suspect, Abubakar Rabiu, 32, at Bode Saadu, Moro Local Government Area, on December 31.
The agency also said its commands nationwide intensified War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitisation activities in schools, communities and worship centres during the period.
Commending the officers involved in the operations, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), urged personnel across the country to sustain and intensify the agency’s drug control efforts.