The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a vessel carrying 20 kilogrammes of cocaine at the Apapa seaport in Lagos.
In a statement on Friday, Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, said the ship — MV Nord Bosporus (registration number 9760110) — arrived from Santos, Brazil.
Officers discovered the Class A drug concealed beneath the vessel’s cargo on Sunday, November 16, 2025.
Babafemi said the ship’s master, Captain Quino Eugene Corpus, and 19 other Filipino crew members had been detained for investigation.
The agency subsequently filed an ex-parte application in suit number FHC/L/MISC/1306/25 before Justice Musa Kakaki of the federal high court in Lagos, seeking the detention of the crew and the vessel.
According to Babafemi, “The motion ex parte in suit number FHC/L/MISC/1306/25 was argued before Justice Musa Kakaki… who on Thursday, 20th November 2025, granted the application for an initial 14-day detention of the vessel, Capt. Corpus and 19 other Filipino crew members.”
He added that preliminary findings show that the MV Nord Bosporus was visiting both Nigeria and Africa for the first time.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that this was the first time the vessel was coming to Nigeria and Africa… while Captain Corpus has been barely three months with the ship,” he noted.
The interception comes six months after 10 Thai sailors aboard the MV Chayanee Naree were convicted for attempting to smuggle 32.9 kilogrammes of cocaine from Brazil into Nigeria through the same port. The federal high court in Lagos fined the sailors and the vessel $4.3 million on May 15, 2025.
NDLEA chairman Buba Marwa commended the Apapa command and the Directorate of Seaport Operations for the latest seizure, describing it as proof of the agency’s strengthened capacity and commitment to securing Nigeria’s borders.
“Let this be an unambiguous message to every international drug cartel and every internal collaborator: Nigeria is not, and will never be, your space or your foothold,” Marwa declared.
“The NDLEA is operating with zero tolerance… You may scheme, you may attempt sophisticated concealment, but you will fail.”
He also warned Nigerians collaborating with foreign drug syndicates that they would face severe legal consequences.