Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted MV Nord Bosporus, a vessel arriving from Santos, Brazil, with 20 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in its cargo at the Apapa seaport in Lagos.
The interception, which occurred on Sunday, November 16, 2025, comes just six months after the conviction of 10 Thai sailors for smuggling a larger quantity of cocaine into Nigeria.
Following the discovery, NDLEA officers detained the ship’s captain, Quino Eugene Corpus, and 19 Filipino crew members for further investigation. The agency has also secured a court order to detain the vessel and its crew.
According to a statement by NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos granted an initial 14-day detention order to enable ongoing investigations.
Preliminary findings suggest that this was the MV Nord Bosporus’ first voyage to Nigeria and the African continent. The vessel, which largely operates between Colombia and Brazil transporting coal, has had Captain Corpus on board for only three months.
The case bears similarities to an earlier incident in October 2021, when 10 Thai sailors aboard MV Chayanee Naree were arrested for trafficking 32.9kg of cocaine. They were later convicted and fined $4.3 million in May 2025.
Reacting to the latest seizure, NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), commended officers for their vigilance. “This cocaine seizure is a clear demonstration of our heightened capacity and unwavering resolve,” he said.
“We will continue to tighten our grip on all entry and exit points. Nigeria is not, and will never be, your space or your foothold. The NDLEA operates with zero tolerance,” Marwa added.
He also warned potential domestic collaborators: “You are not just committing a crime; you are betraying your nation’s future. The consequences of aiding and abetting drug trafficking will be severe.”
Marwa reappointed NDLEA chairman
Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the reappointment of Brig.-Gen. Marwa as NDLEA Chairman for another five-year term.
Marwa, first appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021, previously chaired the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 to 2020. His renewed tenure extends his leadership of the anti-narcotics agency until 2031.
A former military governor of Lagos and Borno states, Marwa is an alumnus of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973, he has held several key roles, including brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade; Aide-de-Camp to then Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma; academic registrar of the NDA; Deputy Defence Adviser at Nigeria’s Embassy in Washington, D.C.; and Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Mission to the United Nations.
He holds a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.
