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Nigeria's Federal High Court on Thursday, June 11, accepted a plea deal struck with 11 Indian nationals who were the crew of a bulker that was found to be smuggling cocaine in January 2026. The crew and the ship agreed to fines with reports that the Nigerian court will auction the vessel if the shipping company fails to pay the fines.
The incident began in January 2026 at Nigeria's Apapa seaport in Lagos when a Marshall Islands-flagged Supramax bulker, Aruna Hulya (55,582 dwt), docked after a trip from Santos, Brazil. The ship, which was built in 2012, is owned by a Turkish company.
Agents from Nigeria's National Drug Law Enforcement Agency found 31.5 kg of cocaine hidden inside the number-three hatch on the bulker. The vessel was detained, and the crew arrested. They were charged with two counts under Nigeria's drug laws. Reports said that 22 crewmembers were taken into custody, but the plea deal only spoke about 11 Indian nationals. The ship was also charged under Nigerian law.
Under the terms of the plea, which was accepted by the court, the ship and crew pleaded guilty and agreed to pay fines and restitution to Nigeria. The ship was fined approximately $5.3 million. The master of the bulker and two other senior officers were each fined approximately $100,000. The other eight crewmembers were each fined $50,000. The fines total approximately $6 million.
"Nigeria is no longer a safe corridor for cocaine or any other illicit substance," declared the Chairman and CEO of the drug agency, Brig General Mohamed Buba Marwa. "This is the third of its kind (judgment)," highlighted the drug agency, which noted two other groups of crew and vessels had recently faced similar charges. Reports said the arrests were part of a crackdown by the Nigerian authorities.
Santos, Brazil, continues to be a notorious center for drug smuggling and transshipments. Authorities have pointed out that the gangs are using the West African countries as an intermediary. The gangs were hoping that containers being transshipped through Africa would draw less attention and inspections when they reached Europe, the final destination for the drugs.
Runners are used to bring the drugs aboard, sometimes while the ships are waiting at anchor off the Brazilian ports, and often without the knowledge of the crew or one or two accomplices. The smuggled drugs can either be offloaded in West Africa and rehidden for the trip to Europe or left aboard the vessel for extraction when it reaches European waters.
Drug enforcement authorities in Europe have highlighted that they too were seeking to crack down on the so-called "Cocaine Highway" crossing the Atlantic from South America. Recently, European efforts saw eight vessels interdicted. The authorities reported the seizure of a total of 11 tonnes of cocaine and 8.5 tonnes of hashish, along with the arrest of 54 people.
Fuente: The Maritime Executive
