“Nigeria Is Not, and Will Never Be Your Foothold,” Marwa Warns Cartels
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a Brazil-bound cocaine shipment concealed aboard a cargo vessel, MV Nord Bosporus (IMO 9760110), at the Apapa seaport in Lagos. The operation, carried out on Sunday, 16 November 2025, uncovered 20 kilograms of cocaine buried beneath the ship’s cargo.
The vessel, which sailed from the Port of Santos in Brazil, had arrived in Nigeria for the first time. NDLEA operatives immediately took the ship’s Master, Captain Quino Eugene Corpus, and 19 other Filipino crew members into custody for further investigation.
Following the arrests, the Agency sought and obtained a court order for the detention of both the vessel and the crew. Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court, Lagos, granted an initial 14-day detention order on Thursday, 20 November 2025, in Suit No. FHC/L/MISC/1306/25.
Preliminary findings indicate that the MV Nord Bosporus had primarily been involved in transporting coal between Colombia and Brazil. Captain Corpus reportedly joined the vessel only three months ago.
This interception comes barely six months after a similar case involving 10 Thai sailors arrested aboard MV Chayanee Naree for smuggling 32.9kg of cocaine from Brazil into Nigeria in 2021. They were convicted alongside the vessel in May 2025 and fined $4.3 million by Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Reacting to the latest seizure, NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.), commended the Apapa Strategic Command and the Directorate of Seaport Operations for their professionalism and vigilance.
Marwa described the operation as “a clear demonstration of our heightened capacity and unwavering resolve,” adding that the NDLEA remains firm in securing all entry and exit points, particularly the seaports frequently targeted by transnational cartels.
He issued a stern warning to international drug syndicates and their local accomplices:
“Nigeria is not, and will never be, your space or your foothold. We operate a zero-tolerance policy and will not permit illicit drugs to pass through our borders by air, land, or sea.”
Marwa further cautioned Nigerians collaborating with foreign drug networks, stressing that such acts amount to betraying the country’s future. He vowed that the NDLEA would deploy the full force of the law to dismantle criminal structures, seize illicit assets, and ensure long-term imprisonment of offenders.
