20kg Cocaine: Court convicts 10 Filipino sailors, vessel, slams $6m fine
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has convicted 10 Filipino sailors and their merchant vessel, MV Nord Bosporus, over the importation of 20 kilograms of cocaine into Nigeria through the Apapa seaport.
The court imposed a total fine of six million dollars ($6m) and an additional N1.1 million penalty following their arrest by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The sailors and the vessel were apprehended on November 16, 2025, after NDLEA officers uncovered 20kg of cocaine concealed aboard the ship, which arrived from Santos, Brazil.
The defendants were subsequently arraigned on a four-count charge in suit number FHC/L/1232C/25 before Justice Ayokunle Faji of Federal High Court 2, Lagos.
The accused persons, however, pleaded guilty and entered into a plea bargain agreement with the prosecution team led by the NDLEA Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Theresa Asuquo.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Faji found the vessel guilty under Section 25 of the NDLEA Act and ordered it to pay a N100,000 fine as well as restitution of $5.35 million to the Federal Government.
Three principal officers of the ship, listed as the 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants, were each fined N100,000 and ordered to pay $100,000 restitution, while the remaining seven crew members were fined N100,000 each with restitution of $50,000 each.
Reacting, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd), described the judgment as a “resounding victory for the rule of law.”
According to him, the ruling sends a strong warning to drug cartels that Nigeria’s waters are no longer safe for illicit trafficking.
“This is a clear signal that Nigeria’s territorial waters are no longer a playground for drug cartels,” he said.
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