Nigeria’s drug agency seizes 31.5kg of cocaine from a merchant ship at Lagos port, arresting 22 Indian crew members in a major trafficking crackdown.
LAGOS: Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested 22 Indian crew members of a merchant ship after seizing 31.5 kilogrammes of cocaine.
Agency spokesman Femi Babafemi said the seizure was made on January 2 aboard the MV Aruna Hulya, which originated from the Marshall Islands.
The bust occurred at Lagos’s main port, a key hub in international drug trafficking routes.
Nigeria is considered a major trafficking and production hub for drugs destined for Europe and other African nations.
In November, the same agency arrested 20 Filipino sailors caught ferrying at least 20 kilogrammes of cocaine from Brazil to Lagos.
Earlier that month, the NDLEA said it was working with US and British anti-drug agencies to investigate a cartel.
That investigation followed the discovery of 1,000 kilograms of cocaine in a container at a Lagos port.
