NDLEA SEIZES COCAINE VESSEL FROM BRAZIL IN MAJOR APAPA PORT BUST — 20 FILIPINO CREW DETAINED

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded another major breakthrough in its unrelenting war against international drug trafficking, intercepting a vessel loaded with cocaine at the Apapa Seaport in Lagos.

In a statement on Friday, the agency’s spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, revealed that the ship, MV Nord Bosporus (Registration No. 9760110), sailed into Nigeria from Santos, Brazil—a route long monitored by global narcotics intelligence units.

According to Babafemi, NDLEA operatives, acting on credible intelligence, conducted a painstaking search on Sunday, 16 November 2025, where they uncovered 20 kilogrammes of cocaine expertly concealed beneath layers of legitimate cargo. The contraband, classified as a Class A drug, was buried deep within the vessel’s hold in what officials described as “a sophisticated concealment technique.”

The agency confirmed that the vessel’s master, Captain Quino Eugene Corpus, alongside 19 other Filipino crew members, has been taken into custody as part of an ongoing investigation into the transnational drug trafficking network believed to be behind the shipment.

To strengthen the probe, the NDLEA has filed an ex-parte application before Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court, Lagos, under suit number FHC/L/MISC/1306/25, seeking lawful detention of the vessel and its crew pending the conclusion of investigations.

Babafemi noted that the interception underscores Nigeria’s resolve to clamp down on international narcotics syndicates exploiting the country’s maritime corridors.

The agency says further details will be made public as investigations progress.