NDLEA intercepts illicit drugs in coffee sachets, detains 22 Indians over cocaine shipment

…Wanted female drug kingpin ‘Mama Kerosine’ arrested in Ibadan; large consignments of opioids, skunk recovered in Borno, Lagos, Kwara, Jigawa raids

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted various quantities of illicit substances, including ketamine, ecstasy, and tramadol pills concealed in sachets of coffee mix and book parcels heading to Zambia and the United Kingdom.

The seizures, made at a courier company in Lagos on 24th and 29th December 2025, came just as the Agency took into custody 22 Indian crew members of a merchant vessel, MV Aruna Hulya, in which 31.5 kilograms of cocaine were seized by operatives at the GDNL Terminal, Apapa Port, Lagos, on Friday, 2nd January 2026.

Those detained in connection with the discovery of the 31.5kg of cocaine in Hatch 3 of the ship, which originated from the Marshall Islands, include the Master of the vessel, Sharma Shashi Bhushan, and 21 other crew members, namely: 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.

Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Oyo State, on Monday, 29th December 2025, arrested a wanted female drug kingpin who is a major illicit drug distributor in Ibadan, the state capital. The 65-year-old grandmother, Fatima Ilori, popularly known as Mama Kerosine, was nabbed in an intelligence-led operation following the seizure of 238.4kg of skunk, a strain of cannabis, linked to her. She was arrested along with another female suspect, Olusanya Abosede, 35, at the Onireke/Elekuro area of Ibadan.

In Borno State, the supply chain of illicit drugs to insurgents was further disrupted with the arrest of two suppliers and the seizure of large consignments of illicit substances. While one of the suspects, Isa Mohammed, 26, was arrested by NDLEA operatives following the interception of 9,150 ampoules of tramadol injection along the Maiduguri–Gamboru Ngala Road on Friday, 2nd January 2026, the other suspect, Musa Samaila, 30, was nabbed with 34,000 capsules of tramadol at Biu Market on the same day.

Not less than 400kg of skunk was recovered along with a van at the Mobolaji Johnson area of Lagos on New Year’s Day, Thursday, 1st January 2026, while a suspect, Bilya Ibrahim, 39, was arrested at a motor park in Hadejia town, Jigawa State, on Tuesday, 30th December 2025, while trying to transport 260 compressed blocks of skunk weighing 140.8kg, which he procured from Taraba State to Nguru, Yobe State.

In Kwara State, NDLEA officers on Tuesday, 30th December 2025, recovered 238.50kg of skunk from the home of a suspect at the Asadam area of Ilorin, while a total of 32,000 pills of tramadol and diazepam were seized from another suspect, Abubakar Rabiu, 32, at Bode Saadu, Moro LGA, on New Year’s Eve, Wednesday, 31st December 2025.

In like manner, commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities to schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities, among others, in the past week. These include WADA enlightenment lectures to students and staff of Madrasatu Fadimatul Zahra Sabuwar Abuja Kankia, Kankia LGA, Katsina State; members of Topo Youth Progressive Organisation, Topo, Badagry, Lagos State; and residents of Madalla Community at the palace of the Hakimi of Madalla, Niger State, among others.

While commending the officers and men of DOGI, Apapa, Oyo, Borno, Lagos, Kwara, and Jigawa Commands for the arrests and seizures, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to intensify the ongoing drug control efforts of the Agency.

Femi Babafemi

Director, Media & Advocacy

NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja

Sunday, 4th January 2026