The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has obtained an order of the Federal High Court in Lagos to detain a ship, its captain, and 20 crew members in connection with the seizure of 25.5 kilograms of cocaine.
The drug was discovered in the hatch of a merchant vessel, MV San Anthonio, which arrived from Brazil at the Apapa Seaport on December 6, 2025.
Director of Media and Advocacy of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, disclosed in a statement that acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives located the cocaine aboard the vessel after the complete discharge of its cargo.
The crew members, who hail from various countries including Russia, the Philippines, Ukraine and Azerbaijan, are currently in NDLEA custody alongside the seized drugs.
The agency noted that the seizure followed a similar interception on November 16, 2025, when NDLEA officers seized 20 kilograms of cocaine from another vessel, MV Nord Bosporus, also conveying cargo from the port of Santos, Brazil.
In line with international legal protocols, the NDLEA said it filed an ex-parte application before Justice Frida Nkemakonam Ogazi of the Federal High Court, seeking the detention of MV San Anthonio and its crew pending the conclusion of investigations and the filing of charges.
Ruling on the application, Justice Ogazi said: “An order of court is hereby made extending the detention of the vessel MV San Antonio being investigated by the applicant, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), for fourteen days in the first instance pending the conclusion of investigation and/or filing of criminal charge and prosecution.”
The matter was adjourned until December 29, 2025.
Reacting to the development, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NDLEA, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Marwa (retd), said the seizure reaffirmed the agency’s resolve to block Nigeria from being used as a hub for illicit drugs.
He said: “This latest seizure reinforces my earlier warning to international drug cartels and their local collaborators that they will never get a foothold in Nigeria.”
According to him, “This is no doubt a testament to NDLEA’s heightened capacity and unwavering resolve to frustrate the drug syndicates targeting the West African sub-region, especially Nigeria.”
Marwa affirmed that the agency would continue to collaborate with local and international partners to achieve zero tolerance for substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in the country.
In related news, the NDLEA has raised concern over Nigeria’s worsening drug abuse crisis that threatens its workforce, public safety, and economic stability, citing disturbing national and state-level indicators.
Commander of the NDLEA in Delta State, Halilu Hamidu, disclosed at a briefing in Ogwashi Uku that the latest report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows that 14.4 per cent of Nigerians aged between 15 and 64, the country’s most economically productive population, use drugs without medical supervision.
Hamidu said the report indicated that 10.4 per cent of the population consumed psychoactive substances, with one in every four users being female, underscoring the widening social spread of drug abuse.
He said that Delta State mirrors this troubling national trend, with many communities battling a high level of drug use that goes beyond individual addiction to destabilise families, neighbourhoods, and the wider society.
