LAGOS, Nigeria (Chatnewstv.com) — Nigerian anti-drug authorities have intercepted a commercial vessel arriving from Brazil and detained its 20-member Filipino crew after discovering a shipment of cocaine hidden on board at a Lagos port.
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency discovered 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of cocaine buried under cargo aboard the MV Nord Bosporus at the Apapa seaport on Sunday, agency spokesman Femi Babafemi said.
A Federal High Court judge in Lagos granted a request on Thursday to detain the vessel and its crew for an initial 14 days to allow for further investigation.
The agency took the ship’s master, Capt. Quino Eugene Corpus, and 19 other crew members into custody. Preliminary investigations indicated this was the vessel’s first voyage to Africa, as it usually transports coal between Colombia and Brazil.
NDLEA Chairman Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa said the seizure should serve as a warning to international criminal organizations attempting to use Nigeria as a transit point.
“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 said in a statement. “You may scheme, you may attempt sophisticated concealment, but you will fail.”
This incident occurs barely six months after a similar case involving drugs trafficked from Brazil. In May 2025, a federal court in Lagos convicted 10 Thai sailors and their vessel, fining them $4.3 million for smuggling 32.9 kilograms of cocaine into the Apapa port in late 2021.
Marwa called the latest interception a “clear demonstration of our heightened capacity and unwavering resolve” to monitor entry points, particularly seaports.
He also warned Nigerian citizens against assisting foreign syndicates.
“You are not just committing a crime; you are betraying your nation’s future,” Marwa said. “The consequences of aiding and abetting drug trafficking will be severe and unrelenting.”
